Thanks for that Ruth. It's good to hear all sides of the story. It coincides with my own experiences of talking with the older travellers, who love and value their horses - it's the younger generation causing the problems.

The question is how to stop the abuse. If the authorites come down hard (and they may well after this year's bad publicity), then that could make the problem worse. A lot of the 'dodgy' goings-on take place away from the public gaze, a mob-handed approach may well drive the culprits further underground.

Ideally, the travellers should police themselves but, as they come to Appleby from all over the place, I don't know how that would work.

I hope a solution can be found soon, because the situation seems to be getting worse.