Yet again travellers have created havoc in west Wiltshire. Last week it was Melksham, this week it was Trowbridge that was left to clear their filth and make good their damage.

The sad fact, even after years of similar problems, is that no-one seems to have any solutions, nor have the wit to look for solutions.

These people are not Romanies, not gipsies in the traditional sense of the term. They are travellers, itinerants, tinkers; groups of scruffy, intimidating chancers who live, most of the time, just on the right side of the law.

They camp where they like, when they like, showing two fingers to local people who complain about the trouble, noise and rubbish they bring. They move on only when they are ready or when the snail-like legal process demands it.

By then the damage has been well and truly done and it's left to us, taxpayers, to foot the bill to clear their mess. Meanwhile, the offending travellers are moving on to a fresh, clean site just down the road and the process starts again.

It is high time special powers were given to the police or councils to be able to shift these people on as soon as they are found to be either camped illegally or causing a nuisance.