Campaigners say Maidstone is taking more than its fair share of traveller sites, after figures revealed the borough was home to more caravans than anywhere else in the county.

In fact, only two other local authorities in the UK, Doncaster and South Cambridgeshire, had more mobile homes, according to government statistics.

At the last count there were 478 caravans pitched in Maidstone, 31% of all of those in Kent. Of those, 72 were unauthorised.

Swale was the next highest borough, with 239 mobile homes.

The number of sites only accounts for 0.28% of the population, though this was still double its nearest contender Swale.

Save Folly Farm, a campaign group formed to oppose an application for a traveller site on farmland in Staplehurst, is concerned that the borough is more than meeting its obligation.

The organisation is currently fighting plans for a five acre site in Frittenden Road, which it fears would rival Essex's notorious Dale Farm in size.

A spokesman for the group said: “We fully recognises that the needs of gypsies and travellers need to be taken into account, and Maidstone needs to accommodate its fair share.

“However, local people in Staplehurst are concerned that Maidstone is choosing to accommodate more travellers and gypsies than other parts of Kent and than most parts of the UK.

“The campaign feels that Maidstone Borough Council needs to address these concerns by communicating their strategy, their policies and targets, enforce their planning decisions and conditions and deliver a scenario where the settled community are consulted and believe that a fair and trustworthy approach to planning is being implemented.”

A council spokesman said: “Maidstone has historically had a larger gypsy and traveller population than other boroughs in Kent due to fruit and hop picking, resulting in a higher need for pitches within the borough.”