I VERY much hope that the May Day committee will be cancelling their traffic management arrangements this year.

It seems the most cost effective method is to simply inform the council that the town will be flooded with people.

On receiving this nugget of information the council will then inform the police who will officiate in closing roads, hiring expensive electronic signs and marshalling the throng to ensure good behaviour and safety for everyone.

This is exactly what happened in Knutsford town centre for the gipsy funeral a few weeks ago.

Events such as the May Day, which contribute so much to our town, have to dig very deep into their pockets and jump through innumerable hoops of officialdom to ensure their event doesn’t contravene any regulations and that all the roads and traffic are sufficiently marshalled.

Yet it appears it was all free for this funeral.

It wouldn’t be inaccurate to suggest that the economic effect on the town was not just a cost to the council and the police but the fact that a lot of the town’s businesses closed for the day.

Why is there one rule for a funeral such as this and another for everyone else?

Beryl Jones Knutsford