The 15th annual Haworth 1940s Weekend was one of the most popular in the event’s history, said one of its organisers.

Mike Hutchinson, who had created a mock-up of René’s café from ’Allo ’Allo outside his bed and breakfast business at the bottom of Main Street, said: “The weekend was absolutely brilliant.

“We were blessed with the weather for a start and everybody dressed up, the streets were packed.

“There was one family dressed in pyjamas and dressing gowns and they had the kids with them as if they had been bombed and left with just what they were wearing.

“It was so inventive and original — everybody clapped them when they came into the café and I gave them a bottle of wine.

“That sums up the spirit of the weekend.”

The event, run by Haworth Village Association and initiated by Anne and Dennis Smith, has grown from a parade with tanks down the Main Street to thousands of people travelling from all over the country to recreate a wartime village. Field nurses and army and naval officers lined the streets and women donning fur coats and red lipstick sat at stalls selling goods, including hot “rations”.

Schoolchildren “evacuees” walked down Main Street led by army officers clearing the way through the crowds.

Land Army girls also paraded with banners and many more danced next to a new addition to the event — a Spitfire fighter plane — in car park near the Parsonage Museum. Dave Hebden, aged 44, from Skipton, was sat on a former British army jeep wearing full army uniform.

He said: “It’s busy. It’s nice and it’s a good atmosphere. The weather’s usually pretty rough but today it’s great.”

At one point, a stately car made its way through the crowds carrying a man posing as Sir Winston Churchill.

He responded to the applause of onlookers with a morale-boosting victory gesture.

The crowds were treated to a rousing performance from a pipe band, which brought the sounds of the glen to the heart of Brontë Country.

Mr Hutchinson added: “A big thank you should go to Pam Howarth, the main organiser, who has worked hard all year and done such a fantastic job.”

Haworth and Worth Valley Rotary Club also reported raising a record amount over the weekend after collecting more than £1,050 — which will go towards the Rotary Foundation.