I WAS surprised to see in your June 7 edition that March Town Council had decided to add a floral tribute to the war memorial in memory of soldier Lee Rigby who was brutally killed in Woolwich.

This came more than a week after residents had respectfully laid flowers on the site.

Whilst it was a nice gesture, it was a great shame that the council used this as a publicity opportunity.

While residents laid their flowers in a silent and dignified manner, the council obviously arranged a photocall to publicise its gesture.

Why it couldn’t quietly do this without seeking publicity is beyond me. However, what is even more disturbing is the fact that mayor Andrew Pugh and Kit Owen decide it’s the right opportunity to smile, as they perhaps would in their holiday snaps.

I can speak for a number of people in that we found this absolutely disrespectful.

In all the thousands of people who have laid tributes in Woolwich, and across the country, from what I have seen on television, national press and the internet, I have not seen one other person smiling as broadly as that pair. They should be ashamed of themselves.

This is not the first time our local mayor has embarrassed the town (November 2011, when the previous mayor - Bernard Keane - and two councillors were caught urinating in bushes).

NICOLA GREEN

Via e-mail