CARAVAN lovers in Dorset have been left "disgusted" by a report on motoring show Top Gear which described a caravan trip to the county as "a weekend in hell".

During last week's show, aired on Sunday, presenters Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond paid a visit to the county in their own caravan in an attempt to discover why the activity is so popular.

But they were clearly far from impressed and a report on the Top Gear website read: "James, Richard and Jeremy certainly didn't seem to enjoy their caravan trip much.

"They certainly didn't like the embarrassment of causing huge traffic jams and the humiliation of having to go to the loo in a bucket filled with blue water."

But Vic Cave, who has been caravanning since the 1960s and is a member of the Caravan Club, said: "I was disgusted.

"I thought people like that would have done their research first and set themselves up properly.

"I thought it was a send-up. They had the wrong car towing the caravan, which held up a lot of people.

"When they got on the site they didn't have a clue what they were doing."

Mr Cave, who lives with his wife Helen in Lytchett Matravers, said his daughter and his grandchildren were also fans of caravan holidays.

He added: "Jeremy Clarkson and his gang gave it totally the wrong impression.

"He wants to come back on TV and do the job properly."

Jean Pine, assistant warden at Hunter's Moon Caravan Club Site in Cold Harbour, near Wareham, said the site was full May to September.

She added: "We are busy all the time.

"When people cancel there is always someone to take their place. And it's people of all ages. I think it's so popular because it just enables you to get away, sometimes just for a weekend. You just get away from everything."

  • The offending edition of Top Gear is repeated on BBC2 on Tuesday, July 18 at 7pm.