A PETITION has been launched to stop white people “blacking up” at Lewes Bonfire.

The town’s annual celebration is one of the biggest in the country, and many dress up as Zulu warriors as part of the occasion.

But campaign group Bonfire Against Racism has condemned it as a “racist act” and asked the Borough Bonfire Society to put and end to the wearing of the costumes.

The petition, which has received more than 1,100 signatures, states: “Lewes Bonfire is a spectacular event that brings our community together for a unique celebration, which reflects the huge devotion of bonfire society members, many of whom work towards it all year-round.

“The decision of a small fraction of the membership of Borough Bonfire Society to engage in the offensive practice of blacking up runs counter to the overall spirit of the event.

“This public display of caricatured, negative stereotypes of black Africans within our community is racist and serves only to increase tension and division within our diverse community.

“We ask Borough Bonfire Society to consider the adverse effect this action has on members of the Lewes community, however unintended they might be, and call on them to cease this practice with immediate effect.”

The costumes have been part of the society’s celebrations for decades, with the society calling itself the ‘home’ of Zulus.

This year the marchers are joined by Zulu Tradition, a group of dancers from the South African province of KwaZulu Natal.

People took to social media to show their support for the petition and to boot the costumes out of the celebrations.

Richard Lindley wrote: “When the Lewes Martyrs were burned alive 460 years ago they were protesting against bigotry and intolerance. When white people black up now, it’s exactly the kind of bigotry the Martyrs gave their lives to oppose.

“It’s stupid, it’s offensive, it’s racist and it’s the opposite of what bonfire is supposed to commemorate. When did bonfire stop being about true history and start being about what your grandparents wore? That isn’t tradition.

“Help make it stop.”

Jason Winter, chairman of the bonfire society, hit back at the racism claims, saying Zulu Tradition dancers “certainly don’t find what we do offensive”. He dismissed the comments as “ignorant and arrogant”, and added: “Just how far do you take ‘political correctness’?”