COLCHESTER’S council taxpayers will have to pick up a £30,000 bill for the visit of the Olympic torch next July.

The borough council has admitted the July 6 visit will cost it £30,000 in road closures, crowd control and street cleaning.

The town was confirmed as one of the 1,000 UK locations on the torch’s route to the Olympic stadium, in East London.

Nominated torchbearers will each carry the flame for 300 metres as the flame passes through 11 wards in the borough.

Amid scenes reminiscent of last June’s big Tour Series cycle race, thousands are expected to line the street to watch the spectacle.

Among them will be many schoolchildren, given time out of their classrooms to witness the event.

Paul Smith, councillor responsible for resources, defended the decision to spend the money.

He said: “I think it will be very worthwhile.

“It will be a unique opportunity to celebrate the Olympics. People who have not been able to get tickets to the Olympics can take part through this event.”

Council leader Anne Turrell described the cost as “a double-edged sword”.

She explained: “I’m delighted the torch is coming to Colchester, but sad taxpayers have to pay for whatever expenses there are.

“But we have no choice. If we want the torch, we have to pay for everything ourselves, just like every other council.”

She was backed by fellow councillor Tina Dopson, who is chairman of the Colchester Olympic Partnership. She said: “If we put on a major event, we have to have the security, the organisation and the clear-up.

“It’s not being spent on flash stuff.

“It’s just the ordinary costs.

“A lot of people may say we could be spending the money on something else, but if that were the case, we wouldn’t be having the torch in Colchester.”

The 70-day Olympic torch relay starts at Land’s End, Cornwall, on May 19.

A convoy of 45 vehicles will carry sponsors, torchbearers and emergency and security personnel along in the wake of the flame.

The torch will also pass through Hatfield Peverel, Maldon and Heybridge on July 6, spending the night in Chelmsford, where an evening of entertainment is planned.

The following day it will travel west to Harlow, then into Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire.