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Platinum Jubilee: South East beacons lit amid celebrations

BBC Wadhurst BeaconBBC
The community gathered for an explosive lighting ceremony in Wadhurst, East Sussex

Beacons were lit across the South East as part of celebrations to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

More than 3,500 beacons were lit up around the world to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

Across Kent, Sussex and Surrey 219 official beacons were lit, along with many other unofficial lighting ceremonies.

Kent had the second highest number of official beacons in the UK with 113, Sussex had 75 and Surrey had 31.

A graphic drawing showing beacon locations across Kent, Sussex and Surrey
219 official beacons were lit across the South East on Thursday night as part of a ceremony to mark the Queen's 70-year reign

The Queen began the ceremony by touching a globe representing the Commonwealth nations, symbolically sending a chain of lights from Windsor Castle to Buckingham Palace.

In Hastings, East Sussex, locals gathered on the cliffs with lit torches for a beacon-lighting ceremony overlooking the sea.

Nikki Noboa Hastings beaconNikki Noboa
Locals in Hastings, East Sussex, gathered with lit torches to mark the beacon lighting ceremony

Nearby, members of the Royal British Legion gathered at Victoria Pleasure Ground in Uckfield, East Sussex, for a lighting ceremony.

Adrian Kilby Uckfield BeaconAdrian Kilby
A Royal British Legion standard-bearer poses with the beacon in Uckfield, East Sussex

Crowds also gathered in East Grinstead, West Sussex, and Crowborough, East Sussex, for beacon-lighting ceremonies.

Charlie Miskelly East Grinstead BeaconCharlie Miskelly
Uniformed groups gathered around the beacon following a lighting ceremony in East Grinstead, West Sussex
Lyn Barwick Crowborough BeaconLyn Barwick
A calm scene in Crowborough, East Sussex, following the lighting of the local beacon

In Kent, crowds gathered in Lamberhurst, Newchurch and Goudhurst, amongst other places, to mark the occasion as a community.

Lamberhurst Beacon
A beacon aflame in Lamberhurst, Kent, following a cerermony at dusk
Newchurch beacon
The community gathered in Newchurch on the Romney Marsh in Kent, to watch their local beacon be lit
Bridget Stewart Goudhurst beaconBridget Stewart
A lit beacon in Goudhurst, Kent

In Surrey, communities gathered on village greens to watch beacon-lighting events in Tatsfield and Dormansland near Lingfield.

Gillian Phillips Community celebrations in Tatsfield in SurreyGillian Phillips
Residents gathered on the village green in Tatsfield to mark a beacon-lighting there
Emma-de-la-Haye Dormansland Village beacon near LingfieldEmma-de-la-Haye
This picturesque shot was from Dormansland village near Lingfield in Surrey
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