Tribute to fallen spoiled by swimmer

Adur and Worthing councils had arranged for the two maroons to be set off at the beginning and end of the traditional two-minute silence on Armistice Day.

Firework company SelStar Fireworks was ready to set off the two on time, when a swimmer was spotted near the baseplate.

A council spokeswoman explained the swimmer refused to move, causing a delay to the 11am maroon and a complete cancellation of the 11.02 one.

The swimmer’s proximity to the baseplate made it unsafe for the firing to take place.

A spokeswoman for the council said: “A regular all year round swimmer decided to go for his usual morning swim.

“A beach inspector politely asked the swimmer if he could delay swimming until after the silence.

“However the swimmer ignored the request and continued to get ready directly next to the baseplate set up to safely fire the maroons.”

The spokeswoman added the swimmer became abusive when he was asked to move and continued to refuse to do so.

She said: “He was asked to move again and became abusive , stating it was a public beach and he would swim where and when he liked.”

The council has set the maroons off near the beach office, on Worthing seafront, for more than 20 years, without any issues.