POLICE last night announced they had made a breakthrough in their investigation into a Gipsy feud after four men were arrested and charged in connection with the ongoing dispute.

The feud among the travelling community in the North-East and South Yorkshire has been escalating in recent weeks and at the weekend saw the theft of two skulls which were dug up from a County Durham cemetery.

Durham Police last night confirmed that four men from the Doncaster area had been charged with conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.

They were arrested by North Yorkshire Police on Monday before being transferred to custody in the South Yorkshire Police area.

Three of the men, Craig Price, 37, John Watson, 28, and David Watson, 28, have been remanded and will appear before Sheffield Crown Court on December 22.

John Stewart, 20, will appear before the same court on Friday (November 27).

An investigation was launched on Saturday after a grave was disturbed and a headstone damaged at Metal Bridge cemetery, near Spennymoor.

The grave belonged to two brothers, Levi George Price and Gareth Price, who both took their own lives aged 16 in 2001 and 2005 respectively.

Travellers from the area were said to be 'shocked and disgusted' by events over the past few weeks which have seen lorries rammed into two Darlington homes and a petrol bomb thrown into a house in the town.

A leading figure in the travelling community this week called for an end to the 'senseless' attacks.