Illegal traveller sites are not being dealt with effectively by police and councils, according to two MPs.

Conservatives Robert Halfon, MP for Harlow, and Thurrock's Jackie Doyle-Price have written to government ministers outlining their concerns, including the cost to the taxpayer.

They criticised police handling of the Harlow constituency, which has seen 68 unauthorised sites set up in the last year, and a petition organised by Harlow’s MP has 2,000 residents calling on the authorities to take action.

Travellers from Harlow have made their way into Waltham Abbey in the last few months, with sites appearing in Sewardstone Road and Thames Mead.

In a joint letter to the Home Secretary, Communities Secretary and Justice Secretary, the MPs said: "The residents of Harlow and Thurrock have suffered enough, and it is time that immediate action is taken and the law upheld”

The MPs criticised Essex Crime Commissioner Nick Alston for "his failure to represent the views of residents".

Mr Alston responded by saying there is a "chronic" under-provision of permanent sites.

He said: “My firm view is that Essex Police is acting proportionately and reasonably within the law with regard to unauthorised traveller encampments.

“This is a countywide problem. I am clear that however well it is policed, policing alone cannot offer a solution.”

In a report published in July, Essex County Council said they wanted Epping Forest District Council to produce a total of 112 new permanent pitches for traveller families in the next twenty years, with 54 of those by 2018.

Debby Kennett, chief executive of the London Gypsy and Traveller Unit, said this approach help travellers assimilate into the community.

She said: "For the past 20 years there has been a real lack of delivery of new pitches and a whole generation have been left with no alternative but to occupy unauthorised sites.

"Building pitches avoids constant evictions, gives the travellers time to engage with the local community, send their children to the local schools and receive healthcare.

“Hopefully, in the future these negative perceptions of travellers will change.”