Travellers defy Covid block on horse fair

DOZENS of travellers have turned up to an annual horse fair – despite the event being postponed due to Covid.

Photographs posted online show visitors lining the banks of the River Eden in the centre of the Cumbrian town of Appleby yesterday, with some riding horses and sitting on carts.

The 250-year-old event, which normally attracts about 10,000 travellers and gipsies from across Europe in the first week of June, was put off until August this year.

A spokesman for Cumbria Constabulary confirmed ‘a number of people have arrived in and around Appleby t oday’ and urged people ‘not to travel to the town this weekend’.

He also pointed out that Covid restrictions limit gatherings to a maximum of 30 people.