Travellers and gypsies arrive on horses ahead of Appleby fair as locals vow to close pubs and board up shops in bid to avoid repeat of last year's chaos

Travellers and gypsies have arrived ahead of this weekend's Appleby Horse Fair - with locals bracing themselves after last year's event was overshadowed by chaos.

The event, which starts tomorrow and ends on June 12, is an annual gathering of gypsies and travellers in the town of Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria. 

The fair sees the town's main street used for showing horses set to be traded as the animals are tethered to railings outside pubs and shops - while visitors park their caravans on both sides of the A685. 

Last year's event caused fury among locals, who reported shoplifting, threats and even urine being squirted through car windows by members of the travelling community.

Photos from today show gypsies and travellers arriving via horse and carriage in order to set up camp in time for the start of the festival tomorrow. 

Every pub in nearby Kirkby Stephen is shutting its doors this year in a bid to minimise the chaos, while railings along the high street have been covered with boards to prevent horses being tied up outside Appleby's popular shops. 

One local business, who wished to remain anonymous, said: 'Things seem to have started badly this year already and even earlier than usual.'

Appleby Fair attracts around 10,000 gypsies and travellers, while more than 30,000 other visitors also attend the event. 

At the beginning of May, farmer Mark Scott was surrounded by travellers who circled around his JCB as he tried to seal off a country lane with boulders to make it impossible for them to settle there.

Mark was subjected to insults and intimidation, with one traveller yelling, 'Kirkby Stephen is on fire, lads'. 

Near the end of last month, travellers who had camped illegally on a field en route to the fair were moved on while four stolen caravans were seized by police. 

Trading Standards officers warned Appleby Horse Fair traders to ensure their goods are genuine and safe this year after they found some evidence of counterfeit goods last time. 

The Appleby Horse Fair has been a mainstay of the Gypsy calendar since the early 20th century - and its roots can be traced even further back. 

But according to local historian Andrew Connell, it does not have its origins in a 1685 charter issued by King James II, as some have claimed.

In his book, Appleby Gypsy Horse Fair: Mythology, Origins, Evolution and Evaluation, Mr Connell reveals how the story of the 1685 charter dates from 1945, when two Appleby councillors who disliked the fair tried to stop it.

'There's no evidence for it, the claim first surfaced in 1945,' Mr Connell told MailOnline.

The fair actually began in 1775, but did not come to be primarily associated with the traveller community until more than a century later.

'It was a trading occasion for droved cattle and sheep, and of course horses. There's not much evidence of gypsy association with it,' Mr Connell said.