Travellers near Selby blocked in a council officer at a site where they live as part of a protest against their "disgusting" living conditions.

Police officers arrived at Linwith caravan site at Carlton to find district council technical assistant Ben Hymers unable to get out of the site after being blocked in by a van.

Selby PC George Beattie said the van was preventing the council officer, who was handing out electricity tokens, from returning to the road.

The stranded Mr Hymers was allowed to go on his way after discussions between the two council officers and the travellers.

About 15 travellers, from both the Carlton and Burn sites, then took their protest to Selby Civic Centre before two of them went into a meeting with council chiefs.

They claimed they were not told that North Yorkshire County Council had removed the management of the two sites from the district council into the hands of a private site operator.

Traveller Kathleen Smith, 27, from the Carlton site, said: "We're protesting against the state of our caravan site and because the district council hasn't consulted us about anything.

"The conditions we have to live in are disgusting."

Mr Currey said it was now a common trend for travellers' sites to be privately managed.

He said: "Both sites were aware the district council would not be managing them in the future. We accept they are not in as good a condition as some other sites, but there is every intention of improving them."

A county council spokesman said they would be meeting the travellers today to discuss their grievances.

He said: "Both sites will be transferred to private management with due regard to the travellers' communities."

selby@ycp.co.uk