RESIDENTS are invited to show their support and find out more about the armed forces and emergency services by coming along to a celebration event taking place in Weston-super-Mare on Saturday, June 22.

Armed Forces Week officially runs from Monday 24 to Saturday 29 June, but a big event is planned to take place on the Beach Lawns in Weston-super-Mare from 10am to 5pm on Saturday, June 22 to mark this special occasion.

Local Armed Forces and Emergency Services (https://weston-afd.co.uk/) are coming together in a joint celebration to recognise their important work.

The day starts at 10am with a parade of veterans and participants from the Grand Pier, heading towards the Beach Lawns for the opening ceremony, followed by more music and events throughout the day.

Eat Festivals are also supporting the event through arranging food and drink offers.

Local emergency services will be hosting demonstrations and fun events with the event free of charge to attend.

Highlights include Blitz Time Sally, The Silver Bugles Band, Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Band, and a final muster where Air Marshall Sir Julian Young will take the Salute.

Garry Hawkes, Armed Forces co-ordinator at North Somerset Council said: “It’s sure to be a great event with lots of demonstrations, interactive displays, and a great way to come together to learn more about what our armed forces and emergency services do for us on a daily basis.

“Showing support for the Armed Forces provides a much-valued morale boost for serving personnel, veterans, and their families and is a chance to show your support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community: from currently serving personnel to Service families, veterans and cadets.”

Weston Town Council is supporting the event by £9,500 alongside a successful Ministry Of Defence (MOD) grant of £4,000.

Anyone can also show their support to the armed forces community through the Salute Our Forces initiative.

Salute Our Forces is a simple way for anyone to pay tribute to the British Armed Forces community for their hard work, dedication, and efforts to and keep us safe in the UK and across the globe.

If you were in the military, a reservist or cadet, have family who have served, or just want to show your support, then posting a selfie of you saluting.

Send a tweet to @ArmedForcesDay (https://twitter.com/ArmedForcesDay) using #SaluteOurForces, comment on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/armedforcesday), or email armedforcesdayuk@gmail.com. Find out more at https://www.armedforcesday.org.uk/get-involved/saluteourforces/.

For more information about armed forces day, check out www.armedforcesday.org.uk