A Traveller advocacy group has blamed members of the Travelling community for dumping a caravan on an illegal dump site - adjoining an overcrowded halting site - as a massive clean-up nears completion.

A Traveller family has vowed to resist any attempts to force their removal from a site in Cork City after a standoff with armed gardaí yesterday.

Traveller families in Cork City have to shower at a local swimming pool, share one portable toilet, and have no piped water or electricity as the council refuses to recognise the site where they live.