91Èȱ¬

People have been urged not to travel to a bonfire event which has previously attracted up to 60,000 visitors.

Emergency services are asking people to attend "local" events instead of travelling to Lewes Bonfire Night.

The hugely-popular event is organised by seven bonfire societies, many of which date to the 19th Century.

At the 2019 event a figure of Boris Johnson urinating on newspapers was one of dozens of colourful effigies that were torched.

Concerns about "overcrowding in the narrow streets of Lewes" have been aired by local councils, who cited high rates of Covid in East Sussex.

Council officials say larger crowds could be expected as last year's event was cancelled due to the pandemic, and because 5 November falls on a Friday.

Darrell Gale, director of public health at East Sussex County Council, said: "We know that bonfire usually brings people together, but these celebrations unfortunately could mean a peak in [coronavirus] cases afterwards, which will naturally impact on the NHS."

Mr Gale asked locals to take a lateral flow tests and check in via the NHS Test and Trace app if they plan to attend the parade.

Emergency services say there have been 896 injuries reported at the parade since 2010.

Nigel Cusack, East Sussex Fire and Rescue service group manager, said: "Crowded spaces make it harder for us to reach emergencies which is why we would like people from outside of Lewes to attend events nearer them to reduce the number of people in the town."

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