Travellers and gypsies arrive on horses forward of Appleby honest

Travellers and gypsies have arrived with their horses ahead of the Appleby Horse Fair this weekend as locals have decided to close pubs and board up shops. 

The event, which starts tomorrow and ends on June 12, is an annual gathering of gypsies and travellers in the town of Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria. 

The fair sees the town’s main street used for showing horses set to be traded as the animals are tethered to railings outside pubs and shops – while visitors park their caravans on both sides of the A685. 

Last year’s event caused fury among locals, who reported shoplifting, threats and even urine being squirted through car windows by members of the travelling community.

Photos from today show gypsies and travellers arriving via horse and carriage in order to set up camp in time for the start of the festival tomorrow. 

Every pub in nearby Kirkby Stephen is shutting its doors this year in a bid to minimise the chaos, while railings along the high street have been covered with boards to prevent horses being tied up outside Appleby’s popular shops. 

Travellers and gypsies arrive in Appleby ahead of the Appleby Horse Fair which starts tomorrow

A man leads horses and a caravan as he arrives in Appleby for the event 

Women are seen travelling via horse and carriage today as they arrive in Appleby 

A photo from last year shows police officers walk past a man on a horse during the Appleby Horse Fair

The travelling community arrive via horse and carriage for the Appleby Horse Fair 

People set up camp at the side of the road with their caravans and horse boxes 

One local business, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘Things seem to have started badly this year already and even earlier than usual.’

Appleby Fair attracts around 10,000 gypsies and travellers, while more than 30,000 other visitors also attend the event. 

At the beginning of May, farmer Mark Scott was surrounded by travellers who circled around his JCB as he tried to seal off a country lane with boulders to make it impossible for them to settle there.

Mark was subjected to insults and intimidation, with one traveller yelling, ‘Kirkby Stephen is on fire, lads’. 

Near the end of last month, travellers who had camped illegally on a field en route to the fair were moved on while four stolen caravans were seized by police. 

Trading Standards officers warned Appleby Horse Fair traders to ensure their goods are genuine and safe this year after they found some evidence of counterfeit goods last time. 

The Appleby Horse Fair has been a mainstay of the Gypsy calendar since the early 20th century – and its roots can be traced even further back. 

A man arrives with his horse for this year’s Appleby Horse Fair 

Photos from today show gypsies and travellers arriving via horse drawn caravan in order to set up camp in time for the start of the festival tomorrow

A man travels along the road via horse drawn caravan for the annual event which starts tomorrow 

The event is an annual gathering of gypsies and travellers in the town of Appleby, Westmorland

A man and woman travel along the road via horse drawn caravan for the annual fair 

A man and a child arrive in Appleby for the fair, as some local report being concerned following last year’s chaos 

Three people arrive via horse drawn caravan for this year’s Appleby Horse Fair 

But according to local historian Andrew Connell, it does not have its origins in a 1685 charter issued by King James II, as some have claimed.

In his book, Appleby Gypsy Horse Fair: Mythology, Origins, Evolution and Evaluation, Mr Connell reveals how the story of the 1685 charter dates from 1945, when two Appleby councillors who disliked the fair tried to stop it.

‘There’s no evidence for it, the claim first surfaced in 1945,’ Mr Connell told MailOnline.

The fair actually began in 1775, but did not come to be primarily associated with the traveller community until more than a century later.

‘It was a trading occasion for droved cattle and sheep, and of course horses. There’s not much evidence of gypsy association with it,’ Mr Connell said.