SHOWMEN and women rolled up yesterday to transform Ock Street for the Michaelmas Fair.

The Abingdon fair, which is open from 11am to 10pm today and tomorrow, fills the length of the street, running for about a mile.

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Yesterday stalls, rides and sideshows started to arrive, marking a tradition which dates back to the 14th century.

Billy Hebborn, 32, who spent much of the day installing a waltzer ride, said: “My family are Oxfordshire-based showmen, we have been travelling in the county since 1913 and I have been coming here for years. It is the biggest fair in the country, going on for more than one mile. It is a special fair.”