POLICE are searching for fields to let travellers camp in as thousands are expected to pass through the region on their way to an annual horse fair.

Many families travelling in horsedrawn carts have already set off for Appleby Fair, being held in Cumbria from Friday to Sunday.

But as the number of travellers on the roads rises so does the number of complaints about them.

Bishop Auckland and neighbouring West Auckland are on one of the most commonly used routes through County Durham and police hope to find temporary campsites that are safe for the travellers and convenient for the settled communities.

Bishop Auckland neighbourhood inspector Martin Peace said: “We are trying to identify an area which is acceptable to both the local community and the travelling community.”

The authorities in Bishop Auckland hope to replicate the success of their colleagues in Barnard Castle, who five years ago created temporary campsites with toilet facilities for the travellers to use.

Two official temporary sites were created in Teesdale with a further three unofficial sites, including Winston, Wackerfield and Guide Post Gate, being acknowledged as safe sites for travellers.

Police say the two sanctioned sites in Broomielaw, near Stainton Grove, and Shaw Bank, near Barnard Castle, have resulted in fewer complaints from residents.

Last year’s fair attracted more than 40,000 people, but, according to one of the organisers, only a quarter of those were traditional travellers in horse-drawn caravans.

Traveller Billy Welch said many of the temporary sites had been created at traditional camping spots used by generations of Gypsy families.

Mr Welch said travelling to and from Appleby was as much a part of the fair as the three-day event itself.

He said: “It’s very important that we do have places to camp because with the horses you can only go so many miles before they need a rest. Just as important to us, though, is that the camp is safe for us, but also not an obstruction or bother to the settled communities.”

Police in Cleveland said they had no real issue with travellers going to Appleby while in North Yorkshire officers said there was an unofficial site in The Avenue, at Shooting Holme, Masham, where travellers can stay.