'˜Busiest ever' Kenilworth horsefair sees few offences reported despite 20,000 visitors

The horsefair held in Kenilworth last weekend saw very few arrests despite being the '˜busiest horsefair ever' according to a Kenilworth police officer.
Land off Thickthorn roundabout where the horse fair takes placeLand off Thickthorn roundabout where the horse fair takes place
Land off Thickthorn roundabout where the horse fair takes place

Around 20,000 people descended on the town over the weekend for the traveller-organised fair, with the busiest day being Sunday April 25.

The presence of heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury, ‘My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding’ star Paddy Doherty and the good weather were given as reasons for the high turnout.

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The site off Thickthorn roundabout only has capacity for 7,000 people, meaning several cars were turned away.

But although the fair was visited by huge numbers, the only offences reported to police during the gathering were traffic-related.

Kenilworth beat manager PC Caine Pickering praised the officers who were on duty during the weekend, and said they worked “so hard.”

He added: “The amount of traffic presented a considerable challenge to us, but it’s one I think we met.

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“There was such a massive volume of visitors because it was the first horsefair of the year, but it was even busier than normal - one of the busiest ever.

“The travellers themselves were all very well behaved. Only very minor incidents were reported which is great when you consider that Kenilworth had 20,000 visitors.”

Safer Communities Manager for Warwick District Council said: “Traffic was very heavy from 12 to 3pm on Sunday, but the rest of fair was pretty calm.

People were inconvenienced but none of them suffered any violence. We haven’t had any complaints yet from Kenilworth residents.

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“It’s not an event we can stop so we always talk to event organisers who work very well with us.

“We will have a full debrief and then prepare for July’s fair.”

The next horsefair will be held in July, and the final fair in Kenilworth this year will be held in September. Both are expected to be less busy than last weekend’s fair.