Gipsies offer Stow £500 towards fair clear-up costs (From Cotswold Journal)

Gipsies offer Stow £500 towards fair clear-up costs

10:30am Monday 8th February 2010

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GIPSIES have offered Stow £500 towards the cost of clearing up the town following their biannual horse fair.

They offered the money to Stow police who, because they must remain impartial, passed it on to Stow Town Council.

It costs about £125,000 to clear up litter left behind by travellers attending the controversial event, held just into neighbouring Maugersbury parish every May and October.

Thousands of travellers attend the one-day fair, sometimes arriving weeks in advance.

The event is held in a gipsy-owned Maugersbury Lane field where traders sell horses and various other items.

Gipsies also trade on Maugersbury Lane’s grass verges, resulting in the route becoming blocked with crowds.

Residents and shopkeepers have long reported incidents of intimidation, theft and public fouling at the event but the last three fairs have been peaceful, with few offences reported.

Gloucestershire Constabulary mounts a high-profile operation to police the fair, which includes closed circuit television cameras, mounted officers, helicopters and teams checking vehicle registrations.

Cotswold District Council supplies portable toilets, along with teams to clean the streets and clear the town centre of litter.

The gipsies pay to clear the field itself.

Inspector for the Stow area, Owen Hughes, said: “This money was kindly given to the police as a donation and a gesture of goodwill to the residents of Stow from members of the travelling community.

“It wasn’t appropriate for the police service to accept the money as we have to remain impartial.

“However, it was passed on to town council to be put to good use."

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