The Gypsy Council has called on the Dorset authorities to talk to the traveller community before spending a penny of £250,000 budgeted for consultants.

Councils in Dorset are getting together to appoint consultants to find suitable traveller transit sites.

The money is made up of contributions from the councils and funding from the Dorset Strategic Partnership and the Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership.

Joe Jones, vice-chairman of the Gypsy Council and representative on many other bodies, said it was ‘over the top’ to hire consultants and put in a plea for smaller family-run sites.