THE utter failure of Tories running Poole council to deal with serious local issues decade after decade is mind numbing.

In the case of the travellers' issue the same ritual every year for at least the last 20 years. From the current portfolio holder John Rampton the very same appeals to government for "more powers" to "criminalise" and bring in police to evict travellers.

All that the bankrupt Tories have in their locker: criminalise. As they have sought to criminalise homeless people sitting in any public space in Poole town. As the Tory government criminalised squatting in abandoned buildings in 2012.

And this is the Tories welded to supply and demand economics. Clearly one huge demand for sites for travellers but in 20years it is beyond the wit of Poole council leadership to find and allocate temporary sites for summer travellers.

Surely half a dozen charged, distributed sets of pitch sites, on public grounds such as Baiter, Creekmoor Park & Ride, and Branksome Rec, for up to a month, with appropriate facilities, is a far better option than yearly outrage.

Worse still if the criminalising views of John Rampton prevail we end with police confrontation. In recent history many shocking cases, even when travellers have bought land, such as Dale Farm in 2012, which cost £2.3 million in policing charges and ended in violence.

Residents may be upset at the behaviour of some travellers but we should keep in mind this is all part of the UK housing issue with many hundreds of thousands in need of homes. If some choose travelling homes they surely have a reasonable right to expect countrywide pitch sites and provided with such sites keep them in good order.

JEFF WILLIAMS

Jubilee Road, Parkstone, Poole