Remembrance Day parade scrapped for first time in 60 years over 'health and safety' fears

 

By JAYA NARAIN - More by this author » Last updated at 15:54pm on 24th July 2007 Comments

It is a quintessential part of being British: that in towns and cities up and down the country people march to commemorate the war dead on Remembrance Sunday.

 

But the parades that take place the length and breadth of the land could soon be a thing of the past thanks to the latest ruling from health and safety officials.

New guidelines are being introduced by police and councils which could spell an end to the tradition - by making the parades too expensive to hold.

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Old soldiers in Horwich will have to be content with watching the national Remembrance Service at the Cenotaph on TV after their own parade had to be scrapped because of an £18,000 'health and safety' bill

 

Organisers in Horwich, Lancashire, have already been forced to cancel the ceremony they were due to hold on November 11 after they were hit with a safety bill of £18,000.

Every year since 1945, the town has held a parade to mark the loss of 350 people of Horwich who lost their lives in both world wars.

But they have been told that a change of rules means they will have to foot a massive bill if they want to go ahead with the event this year.

In previous years, a "rolling roadblock" in Horwich was implemented free of charge by police to clear the way for the parade.

But now senior officers say special marshals must be employed due to safety fears. In addition, organisers will have to pay for each road they wanted closed.

Bolton Council increased road closure prices from £300 to £800 earlier this year and marshals command around £50 a day.

The police claim they only imposed the conditions after a Midlands force was sued when several Brownies were injured on during a similar ceremony when a car was able to drive around a roadblock.

But the decision will have repercussions for small towns and villages across the UK who are unable to fund large safety bills.

Bernard McCartin, of the Royal British Legion, said the ruling and subsequent bill could spell the end to the parades across the country.

Mr McCartin, 65, who served with the Royal Observer Corp in Lincolnshire between the ages of 17 and 21, said: "This is very disappointing but there is not a lot we can do.

"I am absolutely appalled by the decision and it is a mark of disrespect to every person who gave their lives for this town."

The former mayor said: "It is a total disgrace. Several hundred people watch this event every year with all sorts of organisations from cub scouts to veterans taking part. It is a further erosion of what we hold dear in the country."

Steve Rock, chairman of Horwich Council, said the local authority did not have the money to help to meet the bill.

He said: "People will be upset, but the only way to fund it would be to raise council tax next year."

PC Phil Waring, events planner for Bolton, said: "There was an incident in the West Midlands where the police were successfully sued and, as a result, we have to follow new guidelines and make it safer for people."

The Horwich parade has been held since 1945 passing through the town to finish before ending at the war memorial.

Earlier this year new health and safety rules led to the end for an annual duck race in Upper Dam in Cheshire which raised money for charity.

The event is so popular council officials insisted organisers close a nearby road to meet health and safety requirements.

Warrington Borough Council is refused to pay for the closure and, as a result, event organiser the Round Table said it could not afford the £3,000 bill.

It will take more to cancel the Ludgershall parade, so many lives were lost during the 2 great wars :(