THE mayor of Ledbury’s plea to have local people included in the town’s Olympic torch relay has fallen on deaf ears.

Councillor Allen Conway was so dismayed that none of the people carrying the torch on May 24 will be from Herefordshire - one is from Rio de Janeiro - that he wrote to London 2012 chairman Lord Coe asking him to reconsider.

Although his letter has been received, the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) has said it would be impossible to make any changes.

A spokesman said: “The slotting process is very complex – we are allocating 8,000 torchbearers to a 300 metre slot on an 8,000 mile route.

“Making one small change would effectively change all subsequent slots. We give each torchbearer the choice to accept their position based on this date and location.”

Coun Conway said: “Obviously I’m very disappointed. I don’t personally recognise the word ‘impossible and I think anything can be changeable if you want it to be.

“It’s most certainly not a satisfactory response but I don’t quite know where else I can go.”