Slideshow: Warding off the evil spirits

There was plenty of colour and noise in the village of Long Itchington for the annual Plum Jerkum Wassail Tour.
By The Newsroom
Published 27th Jan 2014, 15:44 BST
Plumb Jerkum Border Morris annual Wassail around various pups in Long Itchington,They dance then send a boy up a fruit tree to plant a slice of toast, then shoot it! This wards off evil spirits and ensures a good harvest .MHLC-18-01-14 Morris Jerkum Jan04Plumb Jerkum Border Morris annual Wassail around various pups in Long Itchington,They dance then send a boy up a fruit tree to plant a slice of toast, then shoot it! This wards off evil spirits and ensures a good harvest .MHLC-18-01-14 Morris Jerkum Jan04
Plumb Jerkum Border Morris annual Wassail around various pups in Long Itchington,They dance then send a boy up a fruit tree to plant a slice of toast, then shoot it! This wards off evil spirits and ensures a good harvest .MHLC-18-01-14 Morris Jerkum Jan04

The Morris dancers were joined by members of the Hereburgh Morris and Anstey Morris Men.

Keeping with tradition, a boy was sent up the tree to plant a slice of toast to ward off evil spirits and ensure a good harvest.

To see more of these pictures, or to buy a photo, log onto northamptonnewspapers.newsprints.co.uk and type in the picture code - which is MHLC-18-01-14 Morris Jerkum Jan04 - into the search option.