Representatives from all councils across Essex met with police and the Police and Crime Commissioner last week to discuss a proposed joint protocol for managing unlawful encampments.

The meeting was the next step in developing a shared process and shared protocol that the Deputy Police and Crime Commissoner, Jane Gardner, Essex Police, representatives from district councils and Essex County Traveller Unit have been working on since the first round table meeting in September 2016.

The final protocol is expected to be published in May 2017.

Roger Hirst, Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said: "Creating a shared understanding of how we can manage unlawful encampments is an important step forward in providing a systematic and fair approach across Essex. We know that unlawful encampments can cause significant distress so it is important that we offer a clear and consistent picture of how these will be handled.

"These are difficult issues to manage both from a police perspective and a council perspective and I would like to thank all of the councils across Essex for participating in the process and seeing the benefits of securing a joint approach.

Significant feedback was discussed at last week's meeting that will be incorporated into the final protocol, to be circulated prior to publication in May.

Mr Hirst added: "In a complex situation no one group can get all that they want but by developing a shared understanding that is acceptable for all of the parties involved we can create something that works for everybody.

"Working together in a consistent way we can achieve more."