NO date has been set for Worcester’s annual civic service yet – nearly a month since it was controversially shelved because the Mayor of Worcester went on holiday.

Since Councillor Alan Amos decided to postpone the event city council staff have been trying to find a new date for the bash, which until now has always taken place in June.

Your Worcester News understands they have been trying to arrange it for some time in September, having written off the August period due to the holidays.

But the sudden cancellation of the original date of Sunday, June 22 is giving staff a real headache and negotiations have been ongoing with Worcester Cathedral and various other groups before any date can be confirmed, as well as Cllr Amos himself.

To make matters more complicated Cllr Amos was on holiday the week before last, was off again this past week and will not return to his duties until Monday.

The delays have added to the costs of the original cancellation due to the time staff have been spending working on it.

When the original civic service was scrapped at the start of June more than 100 invites had already gone out to the likes of judges, magistrates, former mayors, dignitaries and other VIPs.

The date for that bash has been set all the way back in January and staff had to contact all of them again to say it had been shelved due to "unforeseen circumstances".

Labour Councillor Adrian Gregson, former city council leader and one of the original invitees, said: “We’ve heard nothing at all on a new date yet but they were hoping for the end of September.”

A city council spokesman said: “We haven’t yet got a date but we hope to get it resolved soon.

“Various dates are being discussed at the moment and as soon as we have a date in place it will be announced.”

Several Labour councillors had already pledged to boycott the service after Cllr Amos quit the party last month before voting the Conservatives into power 48 hours later and getting the chains in return.

The original date was set on the belief Councillor Paul Denham, last year's deputy mayor, would have taken over the chains by now following in the tradition of previous first citizens.

Cllr Amos has already missed several mayoral engagements due to pre-booked holidays.