SWINDON Town will not go ahead with an open-top bus parade which would have been one of the biggest parties to hit the streets in years - however fans will be able to celebrate with the team.

The club, which has virtually secured promotion from League Two, will hold a bash at the County Ground on May 6 instead.

The club is lining up a night of entertainment including The Lightning Seeds and there will be a VIP tent where fans can meet the team and a signing tent.

Season ticket holders will be able to pick up their tickets first for free, with the option to buy one extra ticket for £5, and then tickets will go on sale to Wembley ticket holders. They will cost £5.

The news emerged amid apparent confusion over who had been responsible for instigating a tour for Paolo Di Canio and his players.

Mark Isaacs, Town’s stadium manager, told the Adver this week that Swindon Council had to first invite the club to a civic reception before the parade could go ahead. With no invite, the management had made alternative plans.

But the council responded by saying the Robins had to first approach the police, who have not received any request from the club.

It is understood the cost of the cricket club bash will be vastly cheaper than the £20,000 bill for the victory parade, which would have been thrashed out between Town, the police and council.

Swindon South MP Robert Buckland and his counterpart in the north, Justin Tomlinson, released a joint statement saying: “It would be desperately disappointing if Swindon Town fans were not able to properly celebrate what should be a well-deserved promotion.

“For too long, us fans have had to live with the bad times so as a town we deserve an opportunity to celebrate a success. We have got hope that the council, police and football club can find an appropriate way to mark the occasion.”

The Robins have brought the town to a standstill with previous parades, including after winning promotion to the then Premiership in 1993.

The scenes were repeated with promotion to the old first division in 1996. The club ruled out a victory parade before the 2010 Wembley play-off with Millwall, which resulted in a defeat, but this time around promotion is almost confirmed after a thrilling season, which has included a Wembley final in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

Nigel Bennett, spokesman for the Swindon Town Supporters’ Club, greeted the news as a sign of the times.

“I’m sure the Town fans will still look forward to celebrating the team’s promotion once finally confirmed at the end of the season,” he said. “The news this will not be a bus tour is not surprising given the economic climate in which we live.”

A civic reception with the mayor is likely to be held before the start of the next season if protocol in past years is followed.

A spokesman for Swindon Council said: “Any decision to go ahead with an open-top bus parade rests, quite rightly, with the police. The club haven’t approached us about holding a parade because it’s not our responsibility to make that decision.”

The cost of holding the victory parade would have been at least £20,000 – the price of the event in 2010 which did not go ahead. A police spokeswoman said the bill would only have been calculated after a request had been made.