The service, which took place in the Garden of Remembrance on Sunday was attended by dozens of people paying tribute to fallen soldiers from the Lancaster district.

But some members of the public contacted the Guardian to complain that the silence was held nearly 10 minutes before 11am.

Brenda and Tony Todd from Lancaster said: "Not only was it early, but no announcement was made to that effect, which left us with the impression that no-one involved with organising the service either noticed or cared."

Another person, who wished to remain anonymous, described the service as a 'shambles.'

Raymond Hirst, president's secretary for the Lancaster branch of the Royal British Legion said:
"It was a complete cock up. They miss-timed it. However what's more important is that the silence was observed."

A Lancaster City Council spokesman said: "Unfortunately the service ran much quicker than was expected due to a number of factors and the two minutes silence was marked prior to 11am.

"A debrief meeting is always held after the event and the timing of the service will be a key issue for discussion so steps can be put in place for next year to ensure that this does not happen again." A two-minute silence was also observed in Market Square on Wednesday to mark the 91st anniversary of the Armistice.