, updated
After British paratroopers were forced to go through passport patrol in Normandy, health and safety at UK’s beacon lighting ceremonies looked similarly absurd this evening.
Fire engines and emergency vehicles were watching over the lightings in Queenborough, Kent – poised to run in if the lantern got out of hand.
Crowds queued up the hill, leaning their drinks on the sea defences, as the crowd of safety officers kept them away from the burning fire.
At Castle Hill, Tenby in Wales a small triangle of safety tape was set up around the bottle of Calor gas powering the flame while crowds gathered down the hill.
The tiny beacon – set up on a small tripod – could be seen being alertly watched over by a Tenby Town Council officer in a high-vis bib.
And 11 torchbearers in Christchurch, Dorset were relegated to holding long torches, each of which emitted tiny …