CHESHIRE West and Chester Council has apologised to the heroic Mercian Regiment soldiers who were charged £1 for a cup of tea before a homecoming parade.

Leader Mike Jones has ordered that the £150 takings be donated to the Help for Heroes charity as a way of ‘putting things right’.

Frontline soldiers and their families were not meant to be charged ahead of the Northwich march earlier this month, but this instruction was not passed onto council staff until it was too late.

At the Chester parade they enjoyed a free buffet and drinks at a reception given by the Lord Mayor, while refreshments were also free at Ellesmere Port.

Soldiers from 1st Battalion, The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire), returned from Afghanistan in October after a gruelling six-month tour, in which it lost 12 men.

Cllr Jones, who is a former TA officer, said: “It would have been impossible to refund the money individually and this was the best way we could think putting things right.

“Let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind that this authority has the highest regard for the bravery and devotion to duty of the men and women who make up the Mercian Regiment.

“And to those people who pointed felt that the soldiers should not have been charged, I would say that I agree with you.

“However, this error was most certainly not the fault of the staff who served them.

“They had no idea that refreshments were to be free because our enquiries have revealed that the instruction never reached them.”

Thousands of people lined the streets during the homecoming parades across Cheshire.

Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Hadfield, who commanded the force during the tour, said: “This is our way of paying tribute to the community that supports us while we’re abroad.”