Travellers have lodged a complaint with the television watchdog after Jeremy Clarkson made an 'offensive' comment about gipsies not insuring their cars on the Grand Tour.

During his time on Top Gear Clarkson was known for making controversial statements which offended everyone from lorry drivers to Argentinians - and it would appear his latest show will be peppered with the same sort of comments.

In the first episode of the hit Amazon Prime show the controversial presenter - who was sacked as the host of Top Gear by the BBC in 2015 - said he and co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May are going to 'be like gipsies'.

In the first episode of the hit Amazon Prime show the controversial presenter said he and his co-presenters are going to 'be like gipsies only the cars we drive are going to be insured'

Speaking about travelling around with a giant tent, which is being used as the team's pop-up travelling studio, the 56-year-old said: 'This is our new travelling studio tent.

'We're going to be roaming the world in it, we're going to be like gipsies, only the cars we drive are going to be insured.'

Co-host Richard Hammond quickly interjected jokingly: 'Stop saying things that are going to get us fired.'

Clarkson went on to say that he couldn't be fired because the show was 'on the internet which means I could pleasure a horse.'

But now chiefs at the Traveller Movement organisation, which fights for the rights of gipsies and travellers, said they are worried that jokes about gipsies could become a 'running gag' on the hit show.

The organisation has now contacted TV regulator Ofcom to complain that Clarkson's comments were 'racist and offensive'.

Pictured: Clarkson, Hammond and May tear up a freeway in the American desert during the opening scenes of the Grand Tour - but Amazon refused to say how many watched

Pictured: The trio speed in front of 150 other cars worth millions towards a crowd of fans in their Mustangs during the dramatic opening of the debut episode

A spokesman for the Traveller Movement confirmed that it had alerted the TV regulator about its concerns - saying that Clarkson's comments directly implied that travellers and gipsies broke the law by not insuring their cars and caravans.

Ben Bennett, a Romany Gipsy campaigner who has appeared on Channel 5 show Gipsy Kids, wrote on Twitter that Clarkson's 'joke' was 'disgraceful'.

On the Chorley Romany Facebook group a spokesman wrote: 'I notice that almost the first thing they did was make racist jokes about gipsies not having their vans insured.

'They'd been in trouble for just this kind of behaviour on The BBC, but now they're on Amazon they obviously think that they can get away with it.'

Helena Higgitt wrote on the Travellers' Times Facebook page: 'The prat thinks he is untouchable. He is just an all round unpleasant, spoilt by his mommy individual.'

Many fans declared that the Grand Tour was better than Top Gear, which has floundered without the team

Leilah Archer wrote: 'Isn't racism a hate crime? Or not, for overpaid under educated, mindless, reckless old boy racers?!'

Pat Little wrote: 'Just a loud-mouthed moron!!'

Clarkson has previously landed in hot water for slagging off travellers - when he put up a sign with 'Pikey's Peak' written on it during an episode of Top Gear in 2014.

He was cleared of racism after by the BBC Trust after it ruled that his use of the world 'pikey' was not designed to 'offend gipsies and travellers'.

A spokesman for Ofcom told the Traveller Movement that any content would 'be assessed' using Ofcom procedures and policies.

Amazon has hailed The Grand Tour - which costs £4.5million per episode - as its biggest TV success, saying it has broken viewing records - but they won't say how many watched people it.

Amazon Prime says its first episode has become the subscription service's biggest premiere, beating previous number one show on the service, 2015's The Man In The High Castle.