THE mother of a cadet who collapsed in scorching heat during a parade in Exeter has accused organisers of failing in their duty of care.
But a spokesman for the army cadet force said it was not unusual for people to faint at such events and said the appropriate action was taken.
About 450 army cadets took part in the banner parade in the city centre on Saturday in temperatures that topped 30 degrees Celsius.
The group gathered outside the civic centre before parading through the city to exchange banners Cathedral Green.
But one parent, who asked not to be named, said cadets were "dropping like flies" as a result of being made to wear long-sleeved gear and not being offered water during the march.
The mother said: "They were given water at the civic centre but not anymore until they formed up on the parade.
"I flipped my lid as a parent. The organisers were completely negligent. The kids formed up in full sun with no shade or wet berets.
"They were dropping like flies. I had to take my own son, who is just 12, off the parade because he collapsed, having watched instructors give water to adults and VIPs who were in full shade.
"It was 31 degrees on that green and I counted 18 dropping. They were left out for 40 minutes. I took my son out, stripped off his kit and gave him a change of clothes. I had some water with me and chucked it over him. As we were leaving a young girl was on a stretcher and looked in a bad way.
"All this could have been prevented with simple safety procedures. If they had been on exercise or on a camp things could have been a lot worse."
A spokesman for the Devon Army Cadet Force said: "In those circumstances it is not unusual for a few to faint. We were expecting it and had staff medically trained and carrying water to deal with it.
"One collapsed next to me but within seconds was attended to. There were very few who had fainted on parade compared to more than 500 taking part.
"The decision was made to wear long sleeves to prevent sun burn. I am quite sure that those who wanted water would have had it made available to them. I thought the cadets were remarkable in their resilience to the conditions and extent of the parade.
"We do take complaints seriously but cadets were not left lying around. This is relatively minor in respect of everything else that went on."
Cadets from B Company which consists of cadets from Exeter, Tiverton, Crediton, Cullompton, Exmouth and Sidmouth, were inspected by the Lord Mayor of Exeter. The banners were presented to Devon ACF by the Lord Lieutenant of Devon Sir Eric Dancer.