THE owner of the venue for Stow’s twice-yearly Gipsy horse fair has urged local people to get more involved in the event.

More than 3,000 gipsies and travelling folk from all over the country converged on Stow last Thursday for the traditional event. Now the owner of the fair field in Maugersbury hopes more Cotswold residents will join them for the springtime gathering in May next year.

Walter Henry, himself a gipsy, said: “This is the most organised show in Britain.

“We would like the locals to join in the festival.

“They are welcome to come down any time, they won’t be charged. We would like to see them. All the people here are horse dealing people. We’re no hassle.”

Among the visitors to last week’s event was Warwickshire- born Sidney Biddle, aged 65, who is a regular at the fair who uses it as a chance to catch up with old friends.

The father of six and grandfather of 20 said: “I’ve had wagons for 30 years – I was born in one.

“I live in it all year round. I always come to Stow Fair. I’ve been coming here for as long as I can remember.

“I used to come here with my mum and dad.”

Despite the large number of people who attended the event, Gloucestershire Police said there were only a handful of incidents reported on the day; mainly anti-social behaviour. A police spokesman said: “Officers carried out high-visibility patrols around Stow to offer reassurance and to ensure that traffic delays were kept to a minimum as a result of the additional vehicles.

“Our first priority is always to make sure the fair is a safe environment for those attending and for the local community.”