ALTON mayor Matthew Bayliss will lead the town’s annual Act of Remembrance on Sunday during a service at the Cairn War Memorial outside the Assembly Rooms on Crown Hill.

As well as extending an open invitation to the people of Alton to join this important event in the town’s calendar, the town council is advising motorists that Normandy Street, part of the High Street and Market Street will be closed for the duration of the event and they will need to seek an alternative route.

The ceremony will begin with a parade through the town of uniformed and youth groups, led by the Royal British Legion standard.

The march will start at 10.30am from the Market Square and the procession will make its way down Market Street and up the High Street to the Cairn, to join those gathered to pay their respects to the men and women who have given their lives in the service of their country.

Organised by the Alton branch of the Royal British Legion and Alton Town Council, the Act of Remembrance will include an address by the Reverend Andrew Micklefield, the vicar of the Parish of the Resurrection followed by a two-minute silence at 11am, and the laying of the wreaths, before the parade marches back down the High Street to the Market Square to be dismissed.

Due to the growing popularity of the occasion, this year the road closure will be extended northward to ensure the safety of all those gathering in the vicinity of Crown Hill.

It will mean that a road closure will be in place from 10.30am to 11.45am, covering Normandy Street, from the roundabout at the Courthouse to Church Street, down through the High Street to Turk Street, and Market Street. Motorists will need to seek an alternative route.

In addition, the Market Square will also be closed and car owners are reminded that it is unlawful to leave their vehicles in the Market Square overnight.

* Parking in Alton’s car parks will be free for those attending the Remembrance Day Service on Sunday.