A SPECTACULAR military march will go ahead in Romsey despite the event being cancelled in Stockbridge after protests from angry traders.

The freedom march on the morning of Tuesday, May 14, will see 100 officers and men from the Army Air Corps parading through the centre of Romsey to rousing music from a military band.

Lord and Lady Romsey are expected to join Test Valley mayor Jack Taylor and Romsey mayor Cheryl Collier for the high security event in the Market Place.

But Test Valley council has scrapped a repeat of the march due to take place in Stockbridge in the afternoon because traders protested about plans to close the High Street from midnight the previous day until 3pm.

Stockbridge shopkeepers said scrapping the march was a "victory for common sense" and criticised Test Valley for wasting taxpayers' money by organising the event without consultation.

Paul Robinson, of Robinsons Butchers, said: "This has left a bitter taste in everybody's mouths. The cost to the ratepayer has been astronomical when you think about all the letters the council sent.

"It would be lovely to have an event like that on jubilee weekend but not on a Tuesday."

Test Valley mayor Jack Taylor, who invited the School of Army Aviation at Middle Wallop to take part in the march, said: "I am very sad and disappointed the march through Stockbridge is not now going ahead due to the protests of a number of traders in Stockbridge."

Romsey MP Sandra Gidley said: "I think all this could have been avoided if Test Valley had thought a bit more about who they consulted and arranged something to suit the residents and traders."