Campaigners and councillors will gather to address racism towards Gypsies, Roma and Travellers.

A public meeting will be held by Medway Stand Up to Racism (MSUTR) on Friday, October 6 at Rochester Baptist Church Hall in support of community members.

A study by the charity Friends Family and Travellers earlier this year found that 62% of Gypsies and Travellers had experienced racial abuse - the highest out of all minority ethnic groups surveyed.

Medway Councillor for Strood West, Satinder Shokar (Lab) hopesthe meeting will help change attitudes and stereotypes of the community.

He said: “I’ve had a lot of tricky questions from public members in terms of why some leave rubbish or why they do this and that – but there’s answers for all of those which I’ve discovered.”

There will be guest speakers from those of GRT heritage and an open forum for comments and questions.

“I thought it would be good to have members of that community, and professionals like Joe Jones [Gypsy Council Director] at an event where they can give their side of the story,” said Satinder, who is also the secretary for MSUTR.

The meeting will aim to replace disinformation with facts about the community’s history and culture.

The event will take place from 7pm to 9pm and those interested should reserve a place.

Tickets are available here and are free of charge.