Appleby Horse Fair: Major traveller community event leaves fields littered with rubbish

A major gathering of the travelling community has left fields covered in rubbish and debris.

Pictures and videos published of the aftermath of the Appleby Horse Fair showed litter, including plastic bags, unwanted furniture, empty crates, and cardboard boxes strewn across the site in the east Cumbrian market town of Appleby-in-Westmoreland.

On Monday, organisers published images of workers beginning to clean up.

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A handful of vehicles, including caravans, were visible, and fields had been churned up by tyres and turned into muddy tracks where people had driven across the area.

Westmorland and Furness Council said its statement will include "reactions to how this year's fair has gone and the efforts being made to ensure a swift and thorough clean-up.

"Waste management and street cleaning teams operate in Appleby and the outlying areas throughout the fair, including during this final phase," the council's communications and engagement manager, John Everingham said.

A burnt-out white Ford transit van could also be seen following a fire on the Trade Field shortly before noon on Saturday, which police said they were not treating as suspicious.

Cumbria Police said they attended, with firefighters and "crews extinguishing the fire - which did not spread beyond the vehicle - by midday".

No one was injured, the force said.

Pictures and videos published online over the weekend showed the van in flames.

The fair is a week-long "annual gathering of Gypsies and Travellers in the town of Appleby-in-Westmorland" in early June, which draws around 10,000 Gypsies and Travellers and more than 30,000 other visitors, the event's official website said.

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The fair incorporates a range of activities, including horse riding, horse trading, storytelling, and traditional music and dance.

Temporary litter bins are provided during the fair.

Around 30 arrests were made before the fair began, police said, mostly for road offences.

Appleby-in-Westmoreland is located between the Lake District National Park and the North Pennines and had a registered population of a little over 3,000 at the 2011 census.

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