A SPAT has arisen after a multi-agency operation behind Appleby Horse Fair warned the public about a new website allegedly claiming to be the official Appleby Fair shop.

Steph Cordon, director of Thriving Communities at Westmorland and Furness Council and Chair of MASCG, the coordinating group tasked with managing the response to the annual Appleby Horse Fair, warned the public against "misleading" claims of the newly surfaced website, applebyfair.com.

“Unfortunately, this website contains inaccurate and misleading information about the fair and we’re concerned that anyone visiting the site may come away with a false impression about how and when the fair takes place," she said. 

“There is also a concern that the purpose of the site appears to be to sell, what it terms, ‘official merchandise.’

"The MASCG and representatives of the Gypsy and Traveller community do not endorse either this new website or the merchandise it sells," she said. 

Ms Cordon warned that www.applebyfair.org is the only website officially recognised by MASCG and its Gypsy and Traveller representatives.

Gypsy and Traveller representative on the MASCG, Billy Welch, said: “We wish to disassociate ourselves completely from this new site, which has nothing whatsoever to do with us and is clearly misleading." 

However, the individual behind the website defended their intentions whilst arguing its accuracy, asserting that they aim to provide helpful content and sell homemade printed goods, rather than claiming to be the official shop.

"The same community I’m a part of inspired me to start this whole website to help my fellow community with facts, not outdated information that you tend to find on the web.

"I have never claimed to be the official Appleby Fair shop nor do I intend to be as all my work is my own and the work of my children. 

"We will continue to provide helpful content to the visitors/traveller community of Appleby Fair and we will continue to sell our homemade printed goods.

"It’s not a crime, I’m not trying to govern or dictate how it’s run but as I’m part of it, I’m well within my rights to document it and share information about it," they said.