THE mayor of Chepstow has asked for all guns to be laid down in her town and requested that the 1 Rifles Army regiment do not bring their weapons to this weekend's Remembrance Day ceremony.

Members of the 1 Rifles, based at Beachley Barracks, will be joined by ex-servicemen from the Royal British Legion, and members of the public for the annual Remembrance Day parade on Sunday.

However, town mayor Cllr Hilary Beach has proposed that military personnel put down their arms for the ceremony and celebrate it as a day of peace.

Cllr Beach said: "It is my own personal feeling that I would prefer for there not to be any guns at the Remembrance Day parade. I am very much against guns and think they are awful things.

"I want to make it clear that I hold Remembrance Day as extremely important and it is vital that members of the armed forces are in attendance. However, I have always thought about Remembrance Day as a time for peace and to remember those who have lost their lives in combat.

"I think this could be done better without any guns at the ceremony. We are seeing a worrying rise in the amount of gun crime in this country at the moment and it is terrible, the destruction these weapons cause."

Cllr Beach has recently joined the group Mayors for Peace, which has a worldwide membership of more than 500 cities, working towards solidarity and co-operation in the international community.

But an Army spokesperson said: "Weapons are normally carried by Army personnel when on any kind of parade. Members of the 1 Rifles will be carrying weapons in the Chepstow Remembrance Day parade and this has been agreed by the event's organisers.

"Those attending the ceremony will notice that the 1 Rifles have a distinguishing way of carrying the weapon by the trail."