TRAVELLERS going to and from next month's Appleby Fair are being encouraged to use extra safety measures being offered to them by police.

The event, in Cumbria, attracts gipsies and horse-lovers from across the country, but getting there has proved dangerous and sometimes fatal for those who opt to travel in traditional-style caravans.

Last year, 40-year-old David Ward, from Coxhoe, County Durham, was killed when a car ploughed into the back of his caravan on the A66, in County Durham.

In 2003, a 44-year-old County Durham man and his six-year-old son were killed on the same road when their horse-drawn wagon was hit by a 28-tonne lorry at Appleby.

Now, police are offering high-visibility reflective strips for travellers to attach to their caravans, to make them easier to see by other road users.

Dozens of the large panels, bearing a red-and-yellow chevron display, have been produced. Caravan owners will be encouraged to place them on the back of their vehicles.

The police and traveller liaison staff from Durham County Council will be distributing the panels, with leaflets containing practical road safety advice, to the owners of the "bow tops" as they travel to the fair.

"Most bow tops have a green canvas covering, which can cause them to merge with the surrounding countryside," said PC Dave Nixon, road casualty reduction officer for Durham Constabulary.

"To minimise the risk, we are encouraging travellers to use the reflective markers. This will ensure they have a much better chance of being seen by following motorists, especially on the faster, busier roads such as the A66."

Rose Smith, a gipsy fortune teller from the Midlands, currently staying in her 107-year-old caravan outside Barnard Castle, County Durham, welcomed the initiative.

"It's a great idea," she said. "They should have done something sooner, but at least they have done something.

"Hopefully, this will stop any more deaths like last year.

"People say the police should give us an escort but I think as long as drivers are given notice that we are on the roads then that will be enough.

"A lot of the lorry drivers who aren't from this area aren't used to seeing horse-drawn caravans on the road."

This year's Appleby Horse fair runs from June 7 until June 13.