Appleby Horse Fair clean-up begins as over 100 arrests made at event

The clean-up from the 248th edition of the Appleby Horse Fair is underway as over 100 arrests were made at the event.

It is the most important date on the gypsy and traveller community and despite over 100 arrests police say things ran smoothly.

Bill Welch, the gypsy and traveller community spokesperson said: "It is the most important date in the gypsy and traveller calendar.

"It is sacred to us, it is more important to us than Christmas. It is a perfect illustration of our culture, rich wonderful culture that goes back thousands of years."

As well as bringing money into the local economy, the event divides opinion.

Steph Cordon from Westmorland and Furness Council said: "We have seen some very busy local businesses that have had queues out of the door and we have had some businesses that chose not to open."

This also represented a major operation for police in Cumbria, and they say there were more arrests this year than last.

Detective Superintendent Dan St Quintin, said: “There were just over 100 arrests this year.

"They were for all manner of offences and people from different communities were arrested as well. A lot of these were around road safety, drink and drug driving."

Last week, a horse collapsed and died. The RSPCA said he had been worked until he dropped. The charity say they want to encourage better welfare standards over the next year.

Rob Melloy, from the RSPCA, said: “In terms of interventions it is about the same as we usually get.

"Unfortunately, we have had a couple of exhaustions and there was the horse before the fair that died.

"It literally was ridden around all over the place until it fell over and died. We have had a couple of others we have had to take away because they are exhausted."

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