JULIAN PERREIRA: Ex-Grenadier Guardsman slams plot to hurl rape alarms at horses throughout Coronation

Hurling rape alarms on the ft of horses through the King’s Coronation procession wouldn’t solely be stunning and monumentally silly – it may show lethal.

If a cavalryman, with the total weight of his gleaming ceremonial breast-plate and helmet, was thrown from his terrified horse, he may simply be killed.

And think about the horrifying penalties of a number of 1,500lb horses bolting right into a packed crowd of spectators.

Dozens of members of the general public, together with kids, may find yourself useless or critically injured.

As a former member of the Grenadier Guards for 14 years, I marched alongside these magnificent horses at 5 Trooping the Colour ceremonies and often lined procession routes throughout parades of the Household Cavalry.

Former Grenadier Guardsman Julian Perreira has warned the techniques may consequence within the deaths of troopers and spectators

A PC falls off a horse as police attempt to clear an indication on Whitehall, London

The horses – spectacular beasts not less than 16 fingers excessive – would come inside inches of my face.

The Army meticulously trains its horses to be ready for the joy of a significant public ceremony: the loud music, gun salutes, unfurling of flags and cheering crowds.

The horses are additionally educated in how to answer the surprising: a spectator who out of the blue opens an umbrella or maybe throws a bunch of flowers into their path. A protest like this, nonetheless, could be utterly totally different.

The means that the animals would react to the sudden piercing noise of dozens of rape alarms being thrown at them is unknown – and probably disastrous.

I keep in mind the stunning scene in June 2020 when a spooked police horse bolted throughout a violent Black Lives Matter protest on Whitehall in London.

It first slammed right into a site visitors mild, sending its feminine rider flying to the bottom, earlier than working into the gang after which instantly right into a demonstrator. It was a miracle nobody was killed.

There is legit protest however throwing rape alarms at horses is probably a deadly motion that may goal harmless folks.

You have households with younger kids who may probably lose their lives because of a senseless and harmful protest. As far as I’m involved, that’s terrorism.

Those activists considering such an excessive act must also keep in mind that the guardsmen who line the route aren’t merely there for ceremonial functions. They would immediately reply to any assault on the procession.

Indeed it was a Scots Guard referred to as Alec Galloway who swiftly overpowered a 17-year-old who fired six clean cartridges on the late Queen throughout Trooping the Colour in 1981.

For their very own sake, I hope that it’s the Metropolitan Police who get to any protesters who try this primary, as a result of I’m certain they might not just like the expertise of being rugby-tackled by a 6ft 7in Guardsman – or being hit by the butt of his rifle.

I do know that the guardsmen, police and others charged with holding the general public protected can be absolutely ready to take care of these idiots.