Sally Jones with daughter Thorny and granddaughter Missy Blue - 'a lot of the families here make a real effort to look after their caravans and keep everything nice and tidy'

FAMILIES living on the council's official travellers' site in Bolton are demanding tighter security measures and action to clean up the area.

Residents of the Hall Lane site in Little Lever claim Bolton Council has not carried out simple repairs despite years of complaints and the area is vulnerable to vandals and thieves because there are no security measures at night.

Sally Jones, who has lived on the site for more than two years, said: "A lot of the families here make a real effort to look after their caravans and keep everything nice and tidy.

"We need a warden here all night and day to keep an eye on things and stop people getting on the site and causing trouble.

"The National Gipsy Council runs a site in Salford which is spotless and safe, so I don't see why the Bolton site can't be the same.''

Sally also said she had been waiting at least two years for Bolton Council to repair a broken door on her shed and clear the drains.

One of Sally's neighbours, who did not wish to be named, said: "We're all fed up and want the site cleaning-up.

"People are deliberately coming onto the site and breaking things because we're gispies.

"We often have problems when we go to the shops and taxis won't come here to pick us up either.''

The President of the National Gipsy Council in Warrington, Hughie Smith, says he has received letters from at least four families asking him to speak to Bolton Council on their behalf.

He said: "The National Council has already taken over the management of 22 official sites from local councils and the arrangement works well for everyone involved.

"We provide a security officer 24-hours per day and the people on site can trust him because he is a gispy like them.''

However, a spokesman from Bolton Council's housing department said: "We feel that having the local authority run the site is the only fair way to give equal access to all travellers.

"We have a constant waiting list that recognises this.

"The customers on site are consulted on a regular basis and they have always so far requested that the management be retained by us.''

Bolton Council's Gipsy Liaison Officer, Joe Walsh, said: "There isn't a problem with vandals getting onto the site.

"There are four CCTV cameras which are all working on the site.

"As for blocked drains, the tenants are responsible for cleaning out the drains next to the toilet and bathroom blocks. I know for a fact most people here are happy for Bolton Council to carry on running the site.''