A REPORT into the Great Dorset Steam Fair has attracted criticism from residents.

Visiting the controversial five-day Fair on behalf of Dorset Police last month, Ron Cox found it to be ‘well run’, with excellent results and no reported incidents.

His findings, to be presented at a ‘wash up’ meeting next Tuesday, dismiss worries about travellers as unwarranted “mutual mistrust” between middle class residents and “unknown and possibly unpredictable” visitors.

Despite a fight and a fire on the Dorset County Council temporary camp site, Mr Cox writes: “The anticipation was worse than the reality. My observations made me no more nervous than being in the middle of any large town in Dorset.”

Tarrant Monkton and Launceston Parish councillor Kate Graeme-Cook says the conclusions are ‘out of touch’.

She knows of at least three incidents logged by police, and objects to being portrayed as a NIMBY.

She said: “Residents being middle class is not the issue. It’s a matter of law and order, pure and simple.

“I find it completely unacceptable and irrelevant. We pay a huge amount of council tax and are law-abiding people. It’s unfair to say we’re the problem.”

This year travellers camped along the road at Badbury Rings as they waited for the temporary site to open a week before the Fair.

Mr Cox suggests having the site up and running 48 hours earlier would prevent this, but Cllr Graeme-Cook disagrees.

“There are some travellers who, whatever system you put in place, will get around it,” she said.

Both saw drivers using the A354 as a rat run.

Relevant Parish councils, Blandford Town council and GDSF organisers will air their views at the 2pm meeting at North Dorset District council, before putting together a list of improvements.