Fears have been raised for the future of a Shropshire fair.

Supporters of the May Fair in Ludlow said they were concerned after the town council said it was putting the contract to run the fair out to tender.

The funfair has been run by the same operator since 1973, but the council said, by law, it had to put the contract out to tender.

However, fair supporters said it had been run by David Wynn for more than 35 years and they were unhappy about potential changes.

At a meeting of the finance and policy committee this week, Helen Sherry, of Ludlow, said: “I can’t understand why this issue keeps coming up.

“The last time it was discussed, we were told our fair was safe in its current structure. I fear the town council which tries to interfere with it does so at their peril.”

Mayor Martin Taylor-Smith said the fair was not under threat, but the council had to put projects out to tender when they were worth a significant amount of money.

“It doesn’t matter if someone has been a long term supplier, we are bound by law to go out to tender,” he said.

Resident John Diamond said: “Councillor Taylor-Smith says there will be a fair, but does that mean th- ere will be a May Fair of a standard currently expected in the town?”

Councillor Taylor-Smith said: “The whole point is there will be a specification and people are asked to bid for whatever we have asked for.”

This year’s fair has lost more than £200, with several bills still outstanding. Police charges for covering the fair have been about £1,200 in recent years, alth- ough this year’s was cut to £600 as a goodwill gesture.

Councillors agreed to set up a fair sub-committee to discuss the matter. The public can attend the first meeting at 6pm on August 5. The venue is to be announced.