AN ex-serviceman claims he was forced to march past the war memorial by himself after he claimed pleas to slow down Bolton's Remembrance Day parade fell on deaf ears.

Military veteran Robin Scott-Smith, says he was forced to abandon the parade in Victoria Square after the march went at a too fast a pace — despite reassurances from council chiefs that it would be slowed down so elderly veterans struggling to keep up could be part of it.

Mr Scott-Smith, aged 79, who lives in Great Lever, said: "The pace of the march was not slowed down.

"I had to pull out, I couldn't catch my breath. Slowing the pace down would add a minute-and-a-half on at the most to the service."

Mr Scott-Smith said he was only able to raise the issue now because he had been unwell.

His "campaign" to slow the march down for elderly veterans went national after being reported in The Bolton News and Bolton Council said it would "alter the pace accordingly".

He said: "What was the point of getting all the publicity for this and nothing changes, it would pointless.

"The parade is part and parcel of the day."

Mr Scott-Smith, a guide at Smithills Hall and member of Friends of Smithills Hall, served with the Royal Air Force and later the Duke of Lancaster Regiment until the late 1960s.

He served as a instructor, and taught senior officers about nuclear warfare.

Mr Scott-Smith left the armed forces in the late 1960s before setting up his own business in the construction trade with his brother, John, and is now retired.

He has again written to Bolton Council expressing his concerns about veterans feeling the pace was forcing them out of the march.

Mr Scott-Smith said: "I was in the services for 15 years and know the speed of the march can be slowed down to 70 paces per minute, which is what I would recommend."

He added: "I feel very strongly about this have served in the RAF and being an ex-soldier.

"This parade is very important, it is about paying your respects and there is no reason why the march cannot be slowed down."

A Bolton Council spokesman said: “We are sorry to hear that Mr Scott-Smith had problems with this year’s parade. We spoke to the band prior to Remembrance Day and asked them to slow down the pace of the music.

"They have confirmed that the music was slowed down as requested and that it would be difficult to make this piece of music any slower in the future.”