RESIDENTS have hit out after being told they could not go to their village’s Remembrance Sunday commemoration due to concerns over the spread to Covid-19.

Llanfairfechan Town Council instead held an Act of Remembrance attended by councillors that was broadcast online, which residents felt was unfitting to commemorate the lives of British soldiers who lost their lives during the First and Second World War.

Last year the service was attended by about 200 people, which the council said posed a health risk that it could not ignore.

But some residents pointed to the gathering of nearly a thousand people at Llandudno Cenotaph on Prince Edward’s Square, attended by veterans, military personnel and emergency workers, as well as MP Robin Millar and MS Janet Finch-Saunders.

Sharing their upset on the Llanfairfechan notice board on Facebook, one resident said: "Shame on Llanfairfechan Town Council; I have lost any respect for them. Total disgrace for not supporting and arranging a service."

Another commented that the decision amounted to “stupidity”, adding: “Llanfairfechan council should have gone with what the villagers wanted,” they said.

A third said: “Unbelievable, but you can go in nightclubs. Getting stupid now.”

However, one resident said: “It is something of a different proposition to ensure social distancing around our small cenotaph with the space available on Llandudno Promenade.

“No one was prevented from paying their respects on the Sunday.”

Llanfairfechan Town Council said apologised for the restricted service but the Covid risk was “clear”.

“We would like all residents to know that we fully understand your frustrations and strength of feeling on this matter,” it said in a statement.

“We would like nothing more than for Remembrance Sunday to be commemorated in the same way as it has been in previous years, with a formal service at the cenotaph. In the process of planning the Remembrance event however, it became clear that this would not be possible.

“We received advice that an unregulated crowd of people gathering in what is actually a very small area, could pose an unacceptable Covid risk.

“Considering all the information and guidance received, we decided … it would be safest to commemorate the day with a wreath laying event and video released online on Remembrance Sunday.”