ILLEGAL knives and BB guns were discovered destined for sale at Stow Horse Fair.
As fair-goers thronged to the traditional gypsy gathering's array of stalls, horses and brightly-painted caravans, police and trading standards officers uncovered the items.
They were found in a vehicle from Banbury at 8.30am.
Newly-appointed Gloucestershire police and crime commissioner Martin Surl said the stallholder was a "rogue trader".
He praised policing for reducing long-term "tension" between the travelling fraternity and the community. Speaking at the Maugersbury Road fair, he said: "The only one thing that's spoilt it was one stallholder selling illegal knives.
"The fair organisers themselves were very unhappy.
"They were totally shocked by it and there was full co-operation to remove this one rogue trader.
"I also came up to the fair field unannounced last night, visited town pubs and spoke to Co-op staff. There are clearly some polarised views about the event.
"I wanted to see how it really is, speak to traders and see the police operation at first hand.
"People were very complimentary about the policing over the years and the message came over that the fair's been better managed and the tension has been reduced."
Dismayed with the illegal trader, field co-owner Walter Henry said: "It's not the image we want to portray. People come from all over Britain to buy and sell at this event.
"We give good business to Stow and neighbouring towns as people stay in hotels and visit shops."
But Mr Henry criticised Trading Standards for being overly "heavy-handed" in the way they dealt with searching stalls.
He said: "It's made people turn away and put a real dampener on the event."
