Calls have been made for a child abuse inquiry to open up a new phase which focuses on the experience of Scottish Travellers.

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) has heard evidence of emotional, physical and sexual abuse suffered by youngsters in care, first hearing statements in 2017.

Its review is split into separate case studies and it announced on Friday it would investigate boarding schools and foster care in later proceedings.

Campaigners are now calling for the experience of Travellers to be investigated in its own phase.

Davie Donaldson, a Traveller rights activist, said: "A phase focusing on the experience of Travellers would be progressive.

"The experience of Travellers was socially unique as our children were being taken as a direct attack on our culture, similar to how we see history of children being taken during colonialism - this was to try and get rid of our way of life."

In 1895 government recommended children could be removed from the community and placed in homes or shipped to British colonies.

Campaigners claim this was used to employ practices which would erode their culture.

Mr Donaldson said: "It was believed there was no hope for the adults of the Traveller community - stuck in their primitive way of life - but did have for the children.

"They set in social policy where children were taken away from their parents, basically because they were Travellers.

"That went right on until the early 1970s - I'm yet to find one Traveller family that doesn't have an example of this happening to them."

Author Jess Smith, a Scottish Traveller, added: "It's very easy to go into a camp and say 'these children are malnourished, this tent is leaking - we are going to take them off you'.

"Police were coming to take their children away. That was commonplace."

Martha Stewart was removed from her family camp in Aberdeenshire as a six-month-old in 1958.

Her parents returned to their tent at night to find their two daughters, who were being looked after by an auntie, had been taken by police.

The 61-year-old said: "They were treated as if they weren't worth anything - how devastated, how worthless must they have felt.

"All their stuff was there still, but there were no children.

"We were never allowed contact with our family again - we never saw our parents again."

Ms Stewart and her sister were taken into foster care, where she said they had a good upbringing.

She added: "They thought they were doing good for the children, but the way they went about it wasn't good.

"I have missed out, I have always wanted to know where I get some of my wanderlust from.

"You can take the Traveller out of the camp, but you can't take the camp out of the Traveller."

Organisations working with Travellers believe the population in Scotland is between 15,000 to 20,000 people.

PA Scotland understands members of the community have taken part in the inquiry and an SCAI spokesman encouraged more people to get in touch with them.

He added: "The SCAI has been taking and continues to take evidence from many individuals through private sessions and is also taking evidence from other witnesses with valuable information.

"In addition, the inquiry has gathered, and continues to gather, a wide range of documentary evidence about the abuse of children in care. This includes children whose care was arranged in Scotland.

"The inquiry has invested in a wide-ranging public information campaign and is working closely with various organisations to encourage those with relevant information to come forward. This includes engaging with members of the Travelling community."