From the BBC
Looks like 'pikey' is alive and well as a term for gypsy is some parts of the country.Patricia Knight, who was at the bonfire with her seven-year-old daughter, said: "A caravan was wheeled down the street which portrayed women and children inside, with 'pikey' written on the back and the image of a scantily-clad woman standing in the door.
Ah yes, raising awareness of a cause by that traditional method of burning them in effigy. That makes sense.But Richard Gravett, chairman of Firle Bonfire Society, said: "There was no racist slant towards anyone from the travelling community. If anything, it's actually completely the other way.
"It is to try to make people sit up and listen and realise that these people obviously - as all of us do - need somewhere to live."