Laws giving police tougher powers to evict Travellers from illegal camps will only work if authorities provide more official sites, say travellers' groups.

The Government has unveiled a strategy to crack down on unauthorised camps but the groups say more money will be needed for new sites if the proposals are to work in Sussex.

The Brighton-based Friends, Families and Travellers Advice and Information Unit said the number of sites would have to be increased by at least 20 per cent.

Unit manager Emma Nuttall said police already had tough powers and when travellers were moved on they often had nowhere to go.

She said: "If the Government is serious about this, it has got to provide the money to back it up."

Under current laws, travellers can be evicted if there is evidence they have caused damage or been a nuisance.

Now police will be able to act on the simple basis that the site is illegal - as long as enough transit sites have been provided by the local authority. Evicted travellers could move to an official site or leave the area.

Extra cash will be made available from next April, under the Gypsy Site Refurbishment Programme, to allow councils to develop more sites.

At present, there is only funding for the maintenance of existing local authority sites.

Ministers have accepted the need for a radical overhaul of policy after complaints of travellers setting up camps next to houses and roads.

Many councils have been slow to establish more suitable sites, often because of opposition from local people.

The new guidance, to be issued in the autumn, will be the first to draw a specific link between tougher eviction powers and the need for alternative sites.

Travellers will be told they must conform to the same standards of behaviour as other residents, including regard for public health and proper disposal of waste.

Details of the strategy are still being drawn up while consultation takes place with travellers, residents, business people and farmers, The change to the law will require legislation, which will depend upon parliamentary time being available next year.