Bradford Council's chief executive spent yesterday visiting gipsy sites in the district - both official and unofficial.

Tony Reeves linked up with gipsy liaison manager Steve Knowles for an in-depth tour of the Council's two encampments at Laisterdyke and Esholt. They later visited an illegal campsite at Thornbury.

At the Mary Street site, Mr Reeves said: "I wanted to see things on the front line and the management of the sites. I am really impressed. It's well managed and I've met a number of residents who have told me what they think of the site. The toilet and kitchen blocks are lovely. Everybody seems really happy here."

Mr Knowles and gipsy liaison officer Keith Gardiner said the Laisterdyke site's 28 pitches are full and there is a waiting list of 15 families. But the smaller Esholt site contains 19 pitches and six are vacant.

The Council is soon to start a renovation programme there with a Government grant of nearly £200,000. The shower blocks will be converted into bathrooms and the revamp could see the end of the empty pitches.

Mr Knowles said: "We are letting Tony have a first-hand look into what we do on our daily visits to the sites."

In recent months a number of illegal campsites have hit the headlines with more than 30 springing up in the district already this year.

And last month the Telegraph & Argus reported how Home Office Minister Gerry Sutcliffe wants the police to get tough. He said they are failing to use their powers to kick travellers off unauthorised sites.

The Bradford South MP, recently appointed Under-Secretary for Criminal Justice and Offender Management, said West Yorkshire Police were "too reluctant" to use powers to remove trespassers.

Mr Reeves said the Council was not looking to expand the gipsy sites in Bradford but was in talks with other authorities in West Yorkshire as the matter needed to be looked at across the region.

Both Leeds and Wakefield have sites but there are none in neighbouring Kirklees and Calderdale.

He said: "It is about using all the laws that are available as a local authority. It is important that we have got a slick operation to ensure we deal with illegal encampments as quickly as we can."

Mr Knowles said they were constantly reviewing vulnerable land on a rolling programme to try to keep illegal sites from being set up.

Mr Reeves's visit was part of National Customer Services Week. He is one of several Council managers rolling up their sleeves to learn about their service first-hand.

e-mail: jo.winrow@bradford.newsquest.co.uk