A Norwich City fan has been forced to book a hotel room after realising Bank Holiday bus timetables would see him miss part of the club’s promotion party.

When the Canaries revealed plans to parade through Norwich on Monday (May 6) from 9am, Steve Sadler considered it a no-brainer to join the celebrations.

But the 65-year-old, from Worlingham, was left frustrated when he discovered the earliest bus leaving the Beccles area would not arrive in Norwich until 9.10am due to First Bus operating a Sunday service.

After a 10-minute walk through crowds towards City Hall, Mr Sadler would have missed the day’s opening segment which will see TV host and Yellows fan Jake Humphrey interviewing players and coaching staff.

Disgruntled at the prospect of missing part of a memorable occasion, the Lynn Grove Academy teacher decided to book a hotel room for the night before.

“I do drive and I’m not reliant on buses, but I’d certainly like to have a drink with my fellow fans,” said Mr Sadler. “This is a moment to be savoured, so I wouldn’t mind having one or two lemonades during the course of the day!”

“Fortunately I’ve rectified my situation and taken matters into my own hands by booking a hotel room for Sunday night, but obviously not everyone can afford to do that.

“The city council have decreed that the celebration needs to start at 9am, so my initial suggestion for a solution was for the bus company to put on an earlier service.

“Due to the exceptional circumstances I would hope that perhaps private firms would get involved.”

Monday celebration will see Canaries stars relive their memories of the season on the City Hall balcony, before players and staff board coaches for an open-top parade from 11am.

The parade begins on Theatre Street, continuing along Red Lion Street, Castle Meadow, Upper King Street, Tombland and finally stopping on Palace Street at 12.15pm.

Chris Speed, head of operations at First Eastern Counties, said: “With the parade only being announced on Saturday, it does not provide us with sufficient time to submit a change to the registered timetable.

“We are required to give 10 weeks’ notice to the traffic commissioner if we wish to change any registered journey. However, we will increase the capacity on our X1, X11, X2 and X22 services on the day.”