Sussex Police do not think the law can solve the problem of travellers in the county.

Yesterday Superintendent Paul Pearce said increased powers for officers or councils would not help.

He said: "There is no easy answer to this and I don't think there ever will be, unless we have 250 Sussex officers constantly on stand-by.

"The only answer I can really see is by putting barriers up around sites to stop them getting in there in the first place."

Yesterday council leader Lynette Gwyn-Jones said the police seemed reluctant to use their powers to move travellers on.

But Supt Pearce said police powers - set out in Section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Disorder Act - were often unworkable.

He said: "There is a view held by some in Brighton and Hove Council that Section 61 is a quick fix.

"We keep trying to explain the problems to them, but it is as if they don't want to listen."

Under the law, police cannot start an eviction process until the landowner has told the group of travellers that they want them to move.

Welfare checks of all people on the site are then carried out by the council.

Owen Clifford, a Lewes District Council officer who regularly deals with travellers, said: "When a group arrive, we approach them to find out their medical, social and welfare needs.

"There could be good reasons, like if a heavily pregnant woman is on the site, why they should not be moved."

After welfare checks are completed satisfactorily, the police may still not be able to use Section 61 since travellers have to have caused damage to property or used abusive or threatening behaviour.

If all criteria are met, officers then weigh up if it is worth serving an eviction.

Moving a group of about 40 vehicles, without the travellers' co-operation, could take 250 officers to make arrests, social services officers to look after the children and weeks of planning.

Supt Pearce said: "Then if we evict them they may be out of a particular council's hair, but they are not out of our area of Sussex.

"If the travellers feel we have breached their human rights they could take us to judicial review which could cost us a fortune."

He said council eviction powers - provided under the same Act - were often preferable because evidence has already been through the court system.

The process takes up to two weeks.