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Thousands of travellers arrived at Rutland Showground for the Light and Life Church convention and left locals “intimidated”. Police were inundated with complaints about criminality, anti-social behaviour and people breaking COVID-19 rules.

Shops had to close early near the venue and a McDonald’s restaurant in Oakham, Rutland, shut its doors at 7pm on Monday.

It operated just a drive-thru service, reports Leicestershire Live.

A spokesman for the business said: “To ensure the continued safety of our staff we have made the decision to close at 7pm every night until further notice. This is to make sure our staff are able to get home safely.

“We will only open between the hours of 6am and 7pm. Drive thru only. We are not able to serve people that are not in a motor vehicle for safety reasons.

“All other service platforms will not be in use including click and serve and instore.

“We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused to our regular customers.”

The police and crime commissioner, Rupert Matthews, had demanded a meeting with Leicesershire Police Chief Constable Simon Cole to discuss the problems following complaints on Saturday night (June 19).

Over the weekend, residents tweeted their anger. 

One wrote: “Our little county Rutland currently has thousands of travellers in our showground. There has been looting, fighting, drag racing, intimidation, threats and our pubs/shops closed early to protect staff.”

Another said: “Chaos on roads, reckless driving, overtaking on the high street, not to mention breaking of all the Covid rules. Whose idea to approve?” 

Residents are also said to be upset that the event had been allowed to go ahead, while other events traditionally held in the area had not, due to coronavirus restrictions.

Leicestershire Police have sought to offer reassurance to people living in the area, with Superintendent Jonny Starbuck confirming that “additional resources” had been drafted in.

“Our presence continues in Oakham and at the Light and Life event at Rutland Showground,” he said.

“We have additional resources from the wider force to assist in dealing with issues that have been reported, including an increase in anti-social behaviour, some criminal offences and driving offences.”

Supt Starbuck added: “This is an outdoor event which is legal. We have been working with the event organisers and partners to ensure that Covid rules are followed.

“Local officers continue to patrol on the ground and to engage with local business owners and licensed premises.”

He said the force was investigating a number of alleged offences, including “attempted robbery and anti-social behaviour”, confirming that “two arrests had been made, so far”.

Supt Starbuck said reports of anti-social behaviour in the area were still coming in.

“Residents in the area continue to report anti-social behaviour, which we are responding to,” he said.

“We are working closely with our partners, with the organiser and with participants at the event to ensure that people can go about their usual business with the least disruption.

“Where offences are committed, we will deal with them effectively and robustly.”

He added: “Our enhanced visible presence throughout the day, both around the site and in the town itself, is there to enhance reassurance to our local communities whilst also supporting a swift response where needed.”

Rutland Showground issued an apology which said: “We are currently hosting a religious festival on our site which we are aware is causing disturbance to our neighbours. We wholeheartedly apologise for this.

“We agreed to the booking after assessing the organisers risk assessment and with the belief that this was an event primarily about Christian worship. However, there is a minority of people who are disrupting the event and causing significant problems in around the showground.

“Our priority is to help maintain public order and minimise disruption and allow the event to refocus on its Christian worship as quickly and quietly as possible. We have been in contact with the police who have been onsite today.”

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