BRADFORD Council should do more to combat the "menace" of illegal traveller camps, according to an MP, as new figures revealed public complaints had trebled in three years.

And a charity which supports travellers has also urged the authority to review its procedures.

More than 150 people complained to the Council about unauthorised traveller camps across Bradford in 2014-15, up from 51 in 2012-13.

The figures, released to the Telegraph & Argus under Freedom of Information legislation, also revealed a rise in the number of unauthorised camps from eight to 30 in the same period.

A detailed breakdown of the costs incurred by the Council was not available due to the way its departments log spending, although it did reveal spending of about £34,000 over three years, mostly for legal costs.

Conservative MP for Shipley Philip Davies said the rising number of complaints was "shocking".

The MP labelled travellers an "absolute menace" who caused "havoc" in communities across Bradford.

"The Council has the powers and the police have the powers as the Government increased them in recent years," said Mr Davies.

"The Government gave them powers to get them off land without having to go through lengthy court battles."

Mr Davies said the Council repeatedly failed to properly secure vulnerable land which was being used time and again for illegal campsites.

The list of illegal camps in Bradford shows that some locations are used again and again, including Station Road at Esholt, and Buck Lane, Baildon, despite there being a previously underused Council-run site at Esholt which underwent a £400,000 refurbishment last year.

Mr Davies said: "The Council needs to be more active in putting in place security to make sure it (illegal camping) doesn't happen again on the same site. There are repeat visits to the same sites."

Councillor Debbie Davies (Baildon, Con) said she would like to see travellers pay for the council's legal and clean-up costs.

But Councillor Arshad Hussain, executive member for neighbourhoods and community safety, insisted the Council was taking reasonable steps to prevent trespass on its land.

He said the rising number of unauthorised camps and complaints were the result of one family of travellers moving from site to site.

"The Council works closely in partnership with West Yorkshire Police when dealing with unauthorised sites on Council land," said Cllr Hussain.

"The Council follows the process set out in the joint working agreement that was agreed between ourselves and the police and is in line with national guidance and police force policy.

"It is not realistic for the Council to try to anticipate which sites groups might choose to occupy.

"We take reasonable precautions to prevent trespass on to our land, however, if people are determined to trespass they will do so irrespective of any security measures that might be in place.

"The increasing number of unauthorised encampments and consequently complaints can be attributed in the main to one family which has remained within the district and continues to move from site to site."

A Bradford Council spokesman said: "The Council works in accordance with a national framework to remove any unauthorised encampments as quickly as possible.

"We will protect any land as best we can given the resources available."

Helen Jones, of Leeds-based Gypsy and Traveller Exchange, a charity working to improve the lives of travellers, has urged Bradford to copy Leeds Council by bringing in a policy of 'negotiated stopping' places.

This allows travellers to remain at agreed sites for up to three months, with the Council providing skips and toilet facilities, she said.

Ms Jones said the policy was saving Leeds money on clean-up and eviction costs.

She said Mr Davies' suggestions for dealing with travellers camps had not worked, had wasted taxpayers' money and added to distress caused to settled communities.

"Mr Davies' approach condemns local taxpayers to continued expenditure and distress. It does nothing to deal with the issues. I'm sick of Mr Davies' approach. He has been saying the same thing for decades and where has it got us? I could get rather upset about it."

Ms Jones said current policies towards gypsies and travellers were likely to increase the number of unauthorised camps in the coming years.

She claimed the authorities in Bradford "continued to whistle and look the other way" while communities had to put up with unmanaged encampments.

"Bradford Council needs to review its policies and procedures," she added.