TRAVELLERS voiced disgust yesterday after TV regulator Ofcom cleared Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson over his use of the word “pikey.”

Mr Clarkson, sacked from the motoring show earlier this year after he assaulted a producer, was seen in an episode holding a placard bearing the words “Pikey’s Peak” while Richard Hammond drove a car up a mountain.

This prompted a complaint from a representative of the Traveller Movement.

But an Ofcom spokesman said yesterday: “We found that, while some in the audience would perceive the word pikey as a derogatory term for Gypsies and Travellers, on balance there was sufficient context in the way the word was used to minimise offence.”

A Traveller Movement spokesman said the group would consult its lawyers about its options.

“The Top Gear presenters told them they didn’t mean it to be racist and Ofcom have taken them at their word,” he said.

“The viewing public are not that stupid and Ofcom need to give them more credit.”