Virtual Hastings Jack in the Green is huge success and viewed throughout the world

It also raised £3,074 to support local NHS staff.

The annual May festival, which has been happening for more than 30 years, is the biggest event of the year in Hastings and normally sees thousands of people lining the streets to watch a noisy and colourful procession led by Jack in the Green, a large dancing bush, surrounded by his green bogie attendants and followed by Morris dancers, drummers, giants and many other characters.

Organisers decided to try a virtual version after the event fell victim to the coronavirus lockdown.

Founder Keith Leech said: “This is an event that is loved by the community and we wanted to involved the whole community if we could.”

What started out as an invitation to local people to decorate their homes with greenery and to dress up and share pictures of themselves grew into weekend long live stream, with 800 participants, which mirrored the actual event and saw Morris dancers sharing footage as they danced in their gardens, drummers performing in their homes and a real Jack in the Green, constructed in a back garden.

It was made possible by Isolation Station, the Hastings based streaming station that earlier produced a virtual version of Beatles Day, and was co-ordinated by Keith and Heather Leech.

The day-long stream on Sunday (when the procession would have taken place) was watched by people from Saudi Arabia, New York, France and Germany, as well as across the UK. One of the bogies taking part shared footage of himself in Canada.

There were performances by local Morris dance sides Mad Jacks and Hannah’s Cat and Hastings drumming groups Sambalanco and Section 5 as well as interviews with the bogies and other characters involved. This was interspersed with footage from previous jack in the Green processions.

Paul and Helen Evans, who usually play a key role in the festival, built and released a Jack in their back garden which was ceremonially slain at the end of the afternoon at the same time as the as it would have been on the West Hill in other years.

The event was rounded of with a drumming session to show support for the NHS.

In Hastings Old Town many residents decorated their houses and created Jack in the Green themed window displays.