The leader of Brentwood Council has accused the police of being soft on travellers and has demanded a crackdown.

Cllr David Gottesmann said some irresponsible travellers had been getting away with vandalism across the borough because police were reluctant to take action against them.

Broken gates, broken fencing and other damage at sites occupied by travellers was just being ignored.

He was speaking at last week's full council meeting, days after Shenfield residents demanded action against travellers at Chelmsford Road.

Cllr Gottesmann said: "The criminal damage carried out by some travellers is not dealt with in the same way as activities carried out by other people would be. What I find astounding is that wherever they see evidence of this kind of criminal act they take no action.

"I am still looking for a better response from the police. I think they should treat all vandals or fly-tippers the same. They should not be turning a blind eye just because it's a group of travellers."

But accusations that officers turned a blind eye to crimes by travellers were strongly denied by Brentwood's police chief.

Insp Peter French said Brentwood Police treated everyone the same, whether they were travellers or not.

He said: "If we have reasonable suspicion and sufficient evidence that a person is responsible for criminal damage that person will be arrested and charged.

"I disagree with what Cllr Gottesmann has been saying about us turning a blind eye."

And responding to concern about travellers, the Brentwood Police Community Consultative Group said in a statement this week that as far as police were concerned "the standards of behaviour expected of the travellers are the same as those expected of the settled community".

Most of the travellers who had been occupying land at Chelmsford Road, up to 150 of them, have now moved on.

One local resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "There are abandoned cars over there and the site is just disgusting."

BLOT ON THE LANDSCAPE: Land at Chelmsford Road, which residents say is in a "disgusting" state.

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