Travellers at Wickham Horse Fair have blasted the police and local council for ordering pubs and shops in the area to shut for the day, warning they will have 'problems' if they aren't allowed to run it their way.
The quaint Hampshire village was bought to a standstill yesterday, with roads, pubs and shops closed, as hundreds of travellers descended for the chartered horse trading event which dates back 800 years.
But Romanies who have been attending the event, which takes place annually on March 20, have taken offence to the local authorities orders for local businesses to shut up shop for the day.
Jessy Goddard, a well-known horse trader who comes to Wickham Horse Fair every year with his family, told MailOnline: 'I've gone to all the meetings with police and the council and I've told them if they don't let us run the fair our way, they're gonna get problems.
'So, they've stood back for the last three years and it's been fine. They can't stop it, there's no way they can stop it because it's a chartered fair.'
