MERTON'S annual village pantomime has been scrapped after a row broke out over its title 'Snow White and the Seven Asylum Seekers.'

The Merton Players were asked to change the title by the village hall committee after it took advice from the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) but they have refused, branding the decision as 'ridiculous.'

Now it looks as though the village panto, which has always been a huge success and moneyspinner for good causes, could be a thing of the past in Merton following the resignation of writer and producer Bob Harrod and several cast members.

Mr Harrod said by changing the title of the show, which was scheduled for January in the Clinton Hall, the content of the pantomime would not make any sense.

'The content is not racist — if anything it is having a go at the Government and its handling of the asylum seekers' situation.

'It is a bit of light-hearted fun and taking the mickey out of people which is what village pantomime is all about.'

He said he could not see why using asylum seekers in the title was any more offensive than seven dwarfs.

Mr Harrod's previous pantomines featured controversial issues such as the foot and mouth outbreak, with a cast of farmers hit by the crisis, and fox hunting.

'If we can watch our livestock destroyed and then stand on stage and laugh about it, who are these people who tell us we cannot do asylum seekers.'

Merton's Clinton Hall Committee decided to contact the CRE after one of the members suggested the title might be illegal. The advice which came back was to think about the 'legal and moral implications' of allowing the panto to go ahead.

When the players refused to change the title, the committee, who had also asked for any racial phrases to be taken out, if there were any, held a special meeting and voted for a ban.

Chairman of Merton's Clinton Hall Committee Tim Horner said: 'I have not seen the script but the trouble with things like this is that if someone had complained about it being offensive, then we would have been in trouble.'

Merton's version of Snow White follows the traditional story for a large part of the pantomime but in a twist seven asylum seekers come to the rescue of Snow White, who stays in their cottage in the woods on the condition that she does not shop them to the authorities.

The seven asylum seekers featured are called Chemical Ali, Comical Ali, Back Ali, Dark Ali, Bowling Ali, Ali G and Ali-Kiss-Angel.

The show also has an evil Queen, a sycophantic butler Tony, named after Tony Blair and Prince Charles, who revives Snow White when he turns up at her funeral after being dumped by Camilla.

Brian Nancekivell, who is chairman of the Merton Players and the parish council said Merton was a very small village where there had never been any division in the past.

'It is a real shame this has happened — I am 100 per cent behind the pantomime and could not see anything racist in it at all,' he said.

He said Merton's pantomimes were 'topical not controversial' and each year they were 'a sell out.'

'I hoped we could reach a compromise but the Merton Players took a majority decision not to back down,' he said.