Anger at parents' schools carol ban

A row erupted after a group of Shropshire parents was told they could not watch their children perform in a Christmas carol concert due to health and safety.

Angry scenes broke out at Dawley Christian Centre in Telford yesterday afternoon when the Reverend Mark Sherman, minister at the centre, stopped some parents going in as the hall was full and later called police to try to escort them off the premises.

• For video click here

But they were told on arriving there was no room in the hall due to "health and safety reasons".

Mr Sherman said after informing the parents that the hall was full to capacity they refused to leave and continued to try and enter.

He said he then began to feel intimidated and felt it was necessary to call the police.

Anna Drew, lead media officer for the Methodist Church, said the only reason parents had to be turned away was due to health and safety reasons.

She said it would not have been safe to let more people into the hall but said parents would be welcome to attend another performance of the show today.

Mr Sherman said: "The hall was at capacity, I said it was unsafe for people to continue to enter the building. Ultimately, if there had been an accident or fatality here, I would have been responsible.

"I called the police because I felt that the people outside were about to cause a breach of the peace and I felt intimidated. I didn't fear for my physical safety but they would not stop attem-pting to enter the building.

"People were already standing at the back of the hall. It was full."

But one of the parents David Pitchford said: "I was astounded to find that I wasn't allowed into a place of worship. None of the people waiting to go in were offensive or abusive. He was quite aggressive, it spoilt things."

Telford police spokesman Pete Simmonds said they received a call just after 2pm yesterday in relation to a possible breach of the peace.

He said: "We attended to ensure the welfare of all parties involved. The situation was resolved quickly. No further action was necessary."

By Alexander Walters