A WAR veteran has branded a threat to charge Remembrance Day marchers £54 an hour for street cleaning as "bureaucratic nonsense".

For more than 80 years, veterans in Osmotherley, near Northallerton, North Yorkshire, have marched to honour the war dead.

But plans for a parade along the village's high street on Sunday, November 11, are under threat after a letter from Hambleton District Council outlined possible charges for cleaning up after the march.

The council said it did not expect to have to impose the fee, but organiser David Black, chairman of the Royal British Legion's Osmotherley branch, is still angry at the letter.

The former colonel of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, 63, of Back Lane, Osmotherley, said: "In the past, I have asked the police for a road closure.

"The parade only lasts half a hour and the police help us out.

"But last year we had to ask Hambleton District Council for a formal road closure.

"This year, we applied for a road closure and the council sent a letter stating that, if any street cleaning was needed, it would charge us £54 an hour.

"I blew my top at that. This is not a protest march or a pop concert.

"It is just about 15 veterans marching 50 yards to the war memorial.

"They are not likely to be throwing bottles or cans about. We are being brought down by stupid bureaucracy."

Mr Black, who spent 32 years in the Army until 1999, is also angry that he has been asked for a risk assessment from the police for the march.

He said: "I don't remember doing a risk assessment before going to do my five tours in Northern Ireland or for my spell in Aden.

"I am determined it will go ahead, but some small groups might look at this and not go ahead, and that would be a very grave shame."

The Royal British Legion said veterans' groups around the country were facing similar problems.

A spokesman said the Home Office had issued guidelines in 2004 asking councils and police forces to support veterans.

He said: "We are hoping the Home Office and the Department of Communities and Local Government support the parades again.

"We are asking that in discussions about parades, local authorities refer to the Home Office's 2004 advice."

North Yorkshire Police said the district council had the power to implement road closures.

A police spokesman said: "We have asked for a risk assessment, as standard policy, so we can police the event.

"We are not asking for detailed specialists or an in-depth assessment."

The district council said it was not singling out the veterans.

A spokesman said: "They were sent a standard letter that goes out to all requests for road closures.

"It had a reference to street cleaning in it, because on several occasions over the years we have had problems with litter.

"It is more for events like street fairs and we don't envisage any problems with the Remembrance Day march.

"In the future, references to the street cleaning will be taken out of the letter."

The council said the road closure had been agreed and confirmation would be sent out.