IT has to be said that sometimes the councils are stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to traveller camps on public land.

The decision at the weekend to shut the Bath Road South car park in Bournemouth because a few motorhomes – that were causing no problems – had parked up might seem bonkers, but it was taken to make sure the area wasn’t over-run.

It meant that a central car park stood empty on a busy weekend, inconveniencing people and costing the council money. Will a solution to this ongoing run-around ever be found?