Safety fears halt Wolves parade

Wolves were presented with the trophy after the final game of the season

Wolverhampton Wanderers have abandoned plans for an open-top bus parade to mark their Championship title win because of health and safety fears.

The club said it "worked tirelessly" and held many discussions to try and make a bus tour of the city possible.

But Jez Moxey, club chief executive, said there were "too many health and safety issues to overcome" within the short timespan available.

Wolves are returning to the Premier League for the first time since 2004.

They clinched promotion after beating QPR on 18 April, and their Championship title win was confirmed with a draw at Barnsley a week later.

'Required expertise'

Wolverhampton City Council stated it would like the success to be celebrated with a bus parade.

Chief executive Jez Moxey thanked Wolves fans for their support

Mr Moxey said when the last parade took place when the team were promoted to the Premiership in 2003, the event was the responsibility of the council, but now "the onus" fell on the club.

He said: "And simply put, we do not possess the required expertise to manage such an event safely."

He said the club had held "lengthy discussions" with its safety advisory group, which included the police, council and emergency services.

He added: "Unfortunately today's society has an increasingly litigious bias and given all the information that was presented to us, we couldn't, hand on heart, take full responsibility as is required by legislation - ultimately we were not prepared to put fans at risk."

Mr Moxey added that Wolves supporters had already celebrated the team's promotion, including on Sunday when the trophy was presented to the team after the final match of the season - a 1-0 win over Doncaster Rovers.

A big screen at West Park relayed the trophy presentation to thousands of supporters who were not at Molineux.

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