Violence and a suspected sex attack marred Appleby Horse Fair, leading hundreds of Eden residents to form a new group calling for change.
The Appleby Community for a People’s New Fair group is calling for action to make the event safer for both the gypsy and travelling and settled communities, saying this year’s event turned into a “free for all” which left residents fearful.
The Facebook-based group gained the support of more than 300 members within days, with a further 200 requests to join pending.
Set up by an Appleby resident who has asked not to be named, the group is in the process of establishing a committee and is calling for representation on the multi-agency strategic co-ordinating group which helps facilitate the fair.
“This year proved to a lot of residents and people who usually love the fair that it has not gone well and they were scared. There was a big change and it wasn’t how it used to be.
“There were people there nothing to do with the travelling community and they looked like they just came for trouble,” said a leading member of the new group.
“We are wrongly assumed to be trying to stop the fair but we are not. We want it safely managed for everyone.”
They added that their first calls would be to change the date of the 2022 event to stop it clashing with the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations and to increase safety management at the river where a young boy washing his horse nearly drowned this year.
The fair began on Thursday, having been rescheduled from its traditional June date due to COVID safety concerns.
Despite the fears of local residents that the new date would mean fair-goers would stay on longer than in recent years, Monday saw the majority of gypsy travellers leave the town and visitor numbers subside as the clean-up began.
However, this year was marred by a number of violent incidents, with videos shared online of hundreds of people surrounding a group of bloodied men fighting on the Sands on Friday, police being forced to draft in armed officers and a rape being reported in the town.
On Thursday, a 61-year-old man was assaulted in Clifford Street where he was punched a number of times and left with severe bruising and a cut over his eye. The two men who attacked him made off in the direction of the Midland pub and police later issued a public appeal for information.
In online videos the following day, crowds could be seen watching as a fight took place outside the Grapes pub shortly after 4.30pm.
Seven men were arrested by police — five on suspicion of affray and two on suspicion of public order offences, with a number appearing in court at Carlisle earlier this week.
Police intelligence that a number of groups were planning to travel to Appleby to launch serious violent attacks as part of an ongoing feud had led Cumbria Constabulary to bring in emergency stop and search powers on Saturday.
The legislation gave officers enhanced powers to stop people and it was implemented in a fixed area covering Appleby, Clickham and Brampton. On Sunday morning, an injured woman was reported to have been found in the Cloisters in Appleby and the area was cordoned off as police investigated an alleged rape.
The young woman, aged in her 20s and believed to be from the gypsy and travelling community, was thought to have suffered a sexual assault in a field at the fair before being found in the entrance to St Lawrence’s Church in a distressed state.
Other incidents which left local residents with a sour taste of the fair included the RSPCA seizing 14 horses and ponies and 17 dogs and puppies from filthy conditions — some of the animals were reportedly very sick — a fire on the market field which saw a caravan completely burnt out on Saturday evening and a young boy nearly drowning in the River Eden as he washed his horse.
Prior to the fair, a number of business owners who normally trade during the event had taken the decision to close their doors for the duration.
As the weekend progressed, a number of others followed suit, due to the disruption.
