A ROW has erupted over the unveiling of a historic statue commemorating the bicentenary of the Luddites.

Spen Valley Civic Society commissioned the world’s only Luddite memorial for Sparrow Park off Knowler Hill in Liversedge.

It will be officially unveiled to an audience of invited guests on Saturday.

However, the event organisers have upset Luddite historians in Huddersfield who claim they have been snubbed.

Alan Brooke, 59, of Magdale, Honley, runs the Luddites 200 group and is about to re-publish his book Liberty Or Death to coincide with the anniversary.

But neither Mr Brooke nor his co-author Lesley Kipling, who also wrote a work called: On The Trail Of The Luddites, have been invited.

Mr Brooke emailed civic society chairman Max Rathmell asking why no-one from Huddersfield had been asked to attend.

In his reply Mr Rathmell confirmed that as far as he was aware no-one from Huddersfield had been invited.

Only those who had helped the project in some way were on the official list though members of the public would be able to watch from the pavement, he said.

Mr Brooke said there should have been at least a “token presence” from Huddersfield, given the town’s connections.