This year’s travellers’ horse fair at Seamer, which takes place annually on 15 July near Scarborough, has been cancelled for the second year running.

The horse fair will not be going ahead due to the extension to step three of the government’s Covid-19 roadmap, announced on Monday 14 June.

On the basis that the fair, which is a gathering rather than a formally organised event, has historically attracted a high number of attendees, and in excess of the permitted 30, to go ahead would be in breach of the current Covid-19 restrictions.

Scarborough Borough Council and its partners, North Yorkshire Police, North Yorkshire County Council and RSPCA, are advising the travelling community of the cancellation of the fair, in advance, to save them from making wasted journeys to the Scarborough area.

The traditional ‘penny throwing’ and reading of the historic Seamer Charter in the centre of the village, which, like the horse fair, has regularly attracted onlookers of more than 30 in number, is also cancelled in line with the extension to the government guidelines.

In a joint statement, the partner organisations said:

“It is important that everyone continues to play their part in helping to prevent the spread of coronavirus, particularly with the additional challenges we face from the Delta variant. Our dialogue with the travelling community about the cancellation of the fair will emphasise their collective responsibility to keep the settled community and their own community safe.”