Travellers from across the UK attend the annual fair

The Appleby Horse Fair is being made safer for spectators and animals with the creation of a new flashings track.

The travelling community has previously shown horses for sale at the flashings on a public road.

But following an accident last year, and Eden District Council's reluctance to take responsibility for the road closure, a local farmer has created a purpose-built off road track on land near the road.

Farmer Jim Winter has developed the new flashing track at his own expense in conjunction with the RSPCA, who took inspiration from other flashings held in Ireland.

The joint leader of the council Brian Metz said the changes will make it safer for the thousands of spectators who attend the annual June event.

The fair is a major event... it has a massive impact on the town Keith Morgan

The fair is one of the most important events on the travellers' calendar and has been going for hundreds of years.

Mr Metz said: "I think the key thing was that Eden was unlikely to close the road this year, so something had to be done.

"The alternative was to have this horse racing on the public road among the traffic and that would have been totally unacceptable.

"I think this was a good solution.

"Last year there was an old lady knocked-down and there has always been a danger to the public when we have closed roads and we have horses galloping at high speed up and down."

Finishing touches are also being put to fencing designed to protect the hedgerow from the spectators.

Keith Morgan, chairman of the new fair joint committee, said: "The fair is a major event. It is a major cultural event, it is a major economic event and it has a massive impact on the town."