An English Guy Fawkes event has caused uproar in Scotland – but it is not the first time that the Lewes bonfire celebrations have hit the headlines.
This year, organisers have created a giant Alex Salmond effigy to burn on their bonfire but the Scottish First Minister is not the first high profile personality to burn in East Sussex on November 5 – Pope Paul V does it on an annual basis and in 2001 the event received extra attention after burning an effigy of Osama bin Laden.
The Lewes celebrations are thought to be among the biggest in the world, with six societies parading through the normally quiet town each year.
Organisers describe the event as the ‘most spectacular Bonfire Night celebration in the world’ and tonight’s celebration is expected to attract a crowd of up to 80,000 people.
The organisers also say that as well as Guy Fawkes and the Pope, anyone deemed to be an enemy of the bonfire could be represented by an effigy – this year it appears that one of the societies – the Waterloo Bonfire Society – felt Scotland’s first minister fell into that category.
East Sussex County Council, who originally tweeted a picture of the effigy have since deleted the tweet and attempted to distance themselves from the stunt.