Remembrance Day: Chief constable says West Mercia Police is committed to parades

West Mercia Police Chief Constable Anthony Bangham said residents will see the same level of commitment to remembrance parades as they have done in previous years.

It comes after reports that one of the UK's biggest remembrance parades could be axed.

Organisers have claimed that the event in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, faces being cancelled because of a lack of officers to help enforce road closures.

The responsibility for managing road closures and providing marshals to help run parades lies with event organisers and not the police.

The local Royal British Legion in Melton Mowbray says it has been left trying to raise £800 to pay a private firm to provide marshals to line the route of the parade.

The event, which takes place November 12 is normally attended by 10,000 people.

However, Chief Constable Bangham said that the events are a priority for his force and they will attend as many as possible.

He said: "I would like to be very clear that Remembrance Sunday and the services and parades that accompany such a key date in our calendar are considered very important to West Mercia Police.

"We will be in attendance at as many events as we are able to with the same level of commitment as in previous years. However, also as in previous years there may be some events that we are sadly not able to support.

"Celebrating and remembering the sacrifice made by so many remains a priority for West Mercia Police."

Leicestershire Police said that the force has fewer officers and has to make sure it is able to respond to incidents.

Chief Superintendent Andy Lee said: "As a force we are keen to pay our respects and remember the fallen, and at some of the larger parades there will be a visible police presence to engage with the community and maintain public safety. In order to support these Remembrance Day events we need to carefully manage our resources to ensure business-as-usual continues, and that our level of service across the whole county is maintained.

"In previous years, officers in attendance at parades have been involved in assisting with road closures and traffic management along parade routes due to the lack of formal traffic management arrangements.

"However, this had an impact on our day-to-day operations and demands. With budget cuts and reductions in officer numbers, we have to ensure officers are deployed where the operational risk is greatest and that there is a sufficient number of officers on duty to be able to respond to any incident.

"This is not something that we can sustain alongside making sure we are able to respond to incidents anywhere in the county."

The Local Government Association said councils would do what they could to ensure events go ahead.

A spokesman said: “Councils will always work closely with organisers to ensure that parades can go ahead, and where possible provide support such as waiving fees for temporarily closing roads and providing street signage, and facilitate Remembrance services without charge.”