Rochester's Sweeps Festival attracts thousands for long-awaited 40th anniversary

WATCH: Abigail Bracken was at the Festival this weekend

Rochester finally managed to hold its 40th Sweeps Festival this weekend - after taking two years off because of Covid restrictions.

Organisers say hundreds of thousands of visitors came to watch -  and take part - in what's thought to be the biggest May Day celebration of its kind in the world.

The Sweeps Festival first started in the 1700s, when chimney sweeps would dance through Rochester hoping to collect money to see them through the summer months.

The tradition was revived in the 1980s by Gordon Newton.

He said: "I never ever thought it would grow to as big as it is. There are probably 200,000 people here later on and it is a big event."

WATCH: Gordon Newton, who revived the festival in the 1980s