An open air market was shut down after wardens saw distancing restriction were not being followed, Newport City Council has claimed.
The food and craft market event held at Belle Vue Park was shut down after just a few hours on Sunday afternoon following concerns about overcrowding.
Traders described the closure of the park's first event of the year as "heartbreaking" and "frustrating".
The outdoor event was billed as being "compliant with current Covid trading regulations and only selling items classified as essential, such as food and healthcare" and organisers had obtained permission from the council via a temporary event notice.
In a statement issued this week, Newport City Council said community safety wardens attended the event after concerns were raised about the safety of customers.
A spokesman said wardens then requested Gwent Police attendance.
"The council’s licencing manager also attended the market, and observed that the required control measures contained within the risk assessment were not in place, and also that social distancing measures were failing," a Newport council spokesperson said.
"The event was deemed unsafe, and the council therefore asked the organisers to close the event."
A Gwent Police spokesperson said officers assisted council wardens after the closure notice was issued.
Speaking after the closure on Sunday, organiser Jan Walsh, who also runs the park's tea rooms, said: "We usually have the market every month, but this was the first one this year.
"Everything had gone through Trading Standards and Newport City Council, so there shouldn't have been any problems.
However, there ended up being a bit of a queue for a few of the stalls outside the tea rooms.
"And, because those people had to space out, it caused a bit of a bottleneck and probably made things look worse than they were."
She added: "The park is well used everyday, and with nearby Tredegar House closed at the moment, we've had even more people than usual coming here to exercise.
"I think the police just happened to turn up at our busiest time of day. It's heartbreaking really because lot of people were looking forward to this."
