A marching band is suing a council for throwing away its gold-adorned uniforms, complaining it has scuppered their chances of reviving the group.

Glynneath and District Silver Band, based in Neath Port Talbot, Wales, have brought the compensation claim against Glynneath Town Council in the hope of winning £14,000 to replace the "dumped" clothing.

The council allegedly threw out 27 waistcoats, bowties and hand-stitched, gold-braided jackets with epaulettes belonging to the brass band, which formed in 1888 and won numerous championships before going their separate ways in 2005.

Its trustees said the group had planned to reform, but discovered in November 2018 that their precious uniforms had disappeared from Bethania Community Centre, a former Methodist chapel where they had been stashed away with instruments for safekeeping.

They claim they were told the uniforms had got "rotten" over the years, but believe all they needed was a spruce up at the dry cleaners.

John Evans, an independent town councillor and the former band manager, realised they were gone when he went to the chapel to collect some instruments for local schools.

"It wasn't their property - they had no right to throw them away whatsoever," he said.

"We had a letter saying they would be safe in the chapel. The uniforms were dusty but they could have been dry-cleaned."