A PEACE plan is being drawn up in a bid to solve disputes caused by travelling families as they pass through a rural area every summer.

It is hoped the plan will end trouble that regularly flares up as the travellers make camp for weeks in and around Barnard Castle.

There have been many protests this summer after travellers parked caravans, lorries and cars on roadside verges and on open land while on their way to and from Appleby Horse Fair, in Cumbria.

But now Durham County Council has joined forces with Teesdale District Council, the police, Raby Estates and the travellers themselves to form a "friendly" strategy for future years.

A county council spokesman said: "Our aim is to come up with measures that will ease the strain on communities that have experienced the encampments and also improve services and support for travellers who pass through Teesdale."

The news was greeted with relief in the village of Winston, where a children's annual sports day was cancelled this month because the field was deemed unsuitable for use after travellers camped beside it for seven weeks.

Steve Nesbitt, chairman of Winston Parish Council, said: "We all hope this new initiative will solve the problem. But we have heard of strategies before and they haven't worked. We certainly don't want another spell like we suffered this year." Residents living beside the Demesnes, in Barnard Castle, who signed a protest petition last month after more than 30 families camped there, also expressed support for the peace strategy.

One man who signed the petition, but asked not to be named, said: "It will be wonderful if this eases the nuisance in future. But we will wait to see how it works out before getting too excited."

Councillor Ken Coates, of Teesdale District Council, said: "We definitely need a solution, because we can't put up with all the unseemly trouble year after year."

The county council spokesman added: "At the heart of our discussions is a shared desire to create a better understanding between the travelling and settled communities."

Talks are to be held with some travellers who have parked on a dead-end road at Stainton Grove near Barnard Castle to encourage them to move off without any need for formal legal action.