A complaint that a regional daily newspaper was ‘reinforcing stereotypes’ about travellers has been resolved through the publication of a letter.

Local resident Chrissi Lee complained to the Press Complaints Commission following the publication of a story in the  Colchester Gazette about members of the travelling community dumping waste at a site in Essex, saying it was not possible to prove that this was the case.

Her letter stated that though travellers had been at the site in Colchester there was nothing to suggest that they had dumped rubbish, including a sofa.  “It is articles like this that reinforce the negative stereotyping that occurs all too often about the travelling community, thus supporting misconceptions often held,” she wrote.

The matter was resolved when the media watchdog negotiated the publication of a letter from Ms Lee in the newspaper