Families flock to enjoy spectacular Bonfire Night displays

Thousands flocked to enjoy dazzling firework displays across the UK tonight despite council cutbacks - with one renowned celebration even featuring an effigy of Nigel Farage alongside Guy Fawkes.

Droves of people turned out in major cities and towns up and down the country, but it was in Lewes, East Sussex - dubbed the bonfire capital of the world - that the streets were turned into a riot of colour and noise.

People marched through the town dressed in 17th century clothing reminiscent of what Guy Fawkes would have worn when he plotted to blow up Parliament on November 5, 1605.

Some were dressed in traditional royal clothing, while others painted skulls on their faces.

The parade, which the East Sussex town is famous for, was led by a cart containing a figure of Guy Fawkes and giant burning effigies, followed by the crowd, who were carrying flaming fire devil sticks.

Members of the procession marched towards a giant bonfire where they burnt the Guy Fawkes figure in front of thousands of onlookers.

The Lewes bonfire night is the biggest celebration across the UK, organised by six local bonfire societies, which each have their own fireworks, fire sites, costumes and processions.

Read More

EXCLUSIVE
Jobsworth councils accused of 'penny-pinching' after fireworks displays across Britain are axed

The first recorded event was in 1795.

Each year effigies, often reflective of the political climate, are burnt on the fields outside the town. 

This year, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage had the dubious honour of having an effigy resembling him, alongside one of a diver in polluted seawater.

Last year, it was the turn of then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Jeremy Hunt driving a train with HS2 scrawled on the sign.

In previous years, effigies have included former Prime Minister's Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Tony Blair, as well as the under-fire pandemic health secretary Matt Hancock and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Lewes parade commemorates Guy Fawkes and his failed gunpowder plot, as well as the 17 Protestant martyrs who were burnt alive in the 1550s in the centre of Lewes, represented by 17 burning crosses.

It also marks a two-year martyrdom known as the Marian Persecutions. 

Bloody Mary infamously ordered the burning of 288 Protestants and 17 were killed in Lewes between 1555 and 1557. 

In an effort to remember their demise, residents of the small town dress-up as Protestant martyrs in black robes and bear crucifixes while carrying blazing torches through the streets.

Spectacular displays were also seen in Cambridge, Bristol and Glasgow.

Not all however were able to enjoy the fireworks night they were anticipating.

Thousands across Britain missed out after fireworks events were cancelled across the country.

Read More

Yobs clash with riot police and hurl fireworks at emergency services as Bonfire Night trouble flares across UK

Dozens of public displays were axed because of environmental concerns, health and safety fears, animal welfare issues, escalating costs and councils refusing funding.

Other events are off due to a lack of sponsorship, flooding, licensing problems, normal sites being unavailable - and even fears horses in nearby fields could die.

The TaxPayers' Alliance slammed the 'penny-pinching, puritanical nature of many local councils' who refused to fund events, claiming they are 'always able to scrabble together cash to fund a fashionable pet project or a boost in top brass salaries'.

But the Local Government Association said councils were facing 'significant financial pressures and have to make difficult decisions over what they can and can't fund'.

At least five major displays in London which have previously drawn thousands of visitors did not take place this year - with one of the biggest at Victoria Park in Tower Hamlets, East London, now having been cancelled every year since 2019.

The display was axed in previous years due to the pandemic and then council budget cuts – and was one of London's last fireworks events that was still free. 

Away from London, one of the most unusual cancellations this year was in Essex due to fears that horses could die.

Colchester Rugby Club axed the event after the Redwings Horse Sanctuary warned the noise from fireworks could spook horses in nearby fields, putting them at risk of injury or death.

The sanctuary asked the organisers to use 'silent fireworks' instead, but the club decided to cancel the event completely - blaming 'unreasonable pressure from the local equine community'.

Another display at Humberdale Farm in Swanland, East Yorkshire, was cancelled due to safety concerns – with organisers Hull Wyke Round Table saying that attendee numbers 'exploded' after the pandemic. 

They added: 'We thought something could easily go wrong here and it wasn't worth the risk.'

The group of volunteers said a smaller ticketed event may return in future. The pay-on-the-gate display had been running for 35 years and attracted up to 5,000 people at its height.

And two displays in Hertfordshire were cancelled within a few weeks – with Chipperfield's annual event axed after plans to bring it back this year for the first time since 2019.

This came just weeks after neighbouring Kings Langley also cancelled its event, with the parish council saying a big reason was the withdrawal of a major sponsor.

In Wiltshire, organisers of a planned display at a hotel in the village of High Post near Salisbury cited an 'unexpected licensing complication' for having to cancel their show.

And a November fireworks display in the gardens of Sherborne Castle in Dorset was cancelled in September, with the organisers saying it was 'due to ever-increasing costs to stage this event'.

Events were also cancelled in Manchester, Kent, Suffolk and Nottingham, among others.