The Appleby Horse Fair clear up: Massive operation underway to get rid of rubbish strewn across fields where 10,000 travellers gathered
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A massive operation to clear up fields of discarded rubbish has commenced as thousands of travellers head home after a weekend at Appleby Horse Fair.
Pictures show thousands of pieces of litter visible as well as plastic bags, unwanted furniture and and cardboard boxes strewn across the site.
The remains of a burnt-out white van also remain after it was engulfed by a fire on Saturday afternoon, along with a tent and stall.
The gathering is billed the biggest traditional gypsy fair in Europe and takes place in the market town of Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria, each year.
Around 10,000 people from the Gypsy and traveller community were expected to attend this year's event, along with 30,000 visitors between June 6 and 12.
Yesterday, spectators lined the streets as they watched travellers, including children, race down narrow lanes at death-defying speeds, while others were seen riding horses through the water.
Now, images have shown the full extent of the clear up operation as rubbish has been scattered far and wide.
A blaze was captured on social media on Saturday with huge crowds gathering to stare as smoke billowed across the fair.
In separate footage, at least seven officers were seen investigating stalls. Cumbria Police officers were supporting Westmorland and Furness Council Trading Standards, who last year seized more than £500,000 worth of counterfeit goods.
That included 2,500 pairs of sunglasses and nearly 200 bottles of perfume with counterfeit Cartier, Fendi, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Dior trademarks.
In a video shared to YouTube, a fire could be seen burning through a white van which was set up in a corner of the field alongside a stall and several tables.
Clouds of black smoke also surrounded a tent as fair goers watched on in horror.
Some could be seen covering the faces with their jumpers and coats as they bravely ran towards the fire to start moving tables, chairs and personal belongings out of the fire's path before a small explosion warned onlookers to step back.
Stall holders rushed to the scene and began dismantling a nearby white tent as the van became entirely consumed by the flames.
Appleby visitors were then forced aside as fire engines and police officers arrived to tackle the inferno, with 'woops' and cheers heard in the clips.
In clips shared on TikTok, festival goers walked past the burnt-out wreckage in shock, wrapped up in waterproofs with umbrellas.
One clip showed a blackened white van and one person could be heard saying: 'There's stuff in the back, all the carpets and that.'
Another video showed travellers at the horse fair continuing with their day as families browsed stalls safely out of reach of the fire and tucked in to snacks from nearby food trucks while smoke billowed behind them.
The fair sees the 3,000 population of Appleby-in-Westmorland swell by a factor of 10 as visitors swarm to the annual event.
Of those, an estimated 10,000 are from the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) community.
