Residents of Appleby are fearing for their safety ahead of the annual horse fair.

Big changes have been made for the 2019 fair which has left a number of people who live in the town worried and fearing for their safety.

Plans to move the route the horses and buggies take to the residential street of Garth Heads Road have left some people in the town worried that they will not be able to get in and out of their homes.

The changes are designed to improve safety and reduce the amount of passing traffic along The Sands, but one resident who didn’t want to be named said: “We can’t get out to walk our dogs we just get hassle and abuse.

"I think the fair is too big it shouldn’t be here it’s not like it used to be 20 years ago. It was lovely you could walk round everyone was friendly.

"It's just got too big for the area.

"There is no respect for locals who are just trying to get on and you don’t feel safe you feel threatened."

All the agency's involved are making changes to help make the fair safe for all but the resident added: "They need to take the horses back up the hill shut The Sands off.

"At one time they (The Gypsy and Traveller Community) just came down to water the horses and went back on the hill. That’s where the fair was but now they take over."

Billy Welch, known as the Shera Rom or Head Gypsy has been involved with the fair all his life and made a promise to his father to preserve it he said: "When it was decided to change the route, I said yes. It's not final. We're going to try it and see how it works but we can go back to how it was last year.

"Every year we tweak things and try things to see if it works better. We thought it would be safer for pedestrians in the town if it causes a problem we can re-open it.

"It' trial and error, it's how we improve things. It's the same in both communities both have worries and we're trying to fix them."

The Appleby Horse Fair Multi-Agency Strategic Co-ordinating Group has been listening to feedback from residents following last years fair. A spokesman said: "The first priority for all MASCG members is keeping people safe.

"In line with this priority and concerns raised about the safety of pedestrians, the MASCG is putting in place measures designed to improve pedestrian safety on The Sands.

"The pedestrian crossing at The Sands is to be guarded with barriers on both sides of the carriageway, keeping the pedestrian crossing free for pedestrians and removing the potential for horses travelling over the crossing to collide with people.

"A diversion is to be put in place, taking traffic from Battlebarrow to Bongate along Garth Heads Road.

"This will be the first year these measures have been put in place and they will be monitored closely by the different agencies."

"We continue to encourage anyone who experiences an offence to contact the police. We have a dedicated Appleby-specific 101 reporting line. Police cannot be expected to tackle issues if they are not reported."