POLICE fear travelling folk may head for a horse fair that has been cancelled because of the foot-and-mouth crisis.

About 100,000 people attend the Appleby Horse Fair, in Cumbria, each year - many of them from the Bishop Auckland area of County Durham.

This year's event, due to be held between June 7 and 13, was called off in March because of the spread of foot-and-mouth.

Police in Cumbria say they are concerned that some members of the travelling community - who often head for the fair weeks in advance - may not have heard of the event's cancellation.