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THE first round of this season's best British asparagus was celebrated today - in typically eccentric fashion.

Gus the asparagus man, morris dancers and St George on his patron saint day were all in attendance yesterday morning at The Fleece at Bretforton, near Evesham, as the British Asparagus Festival was launched.

The ceremony, in which a local vicar blesses the humble vegetable, is always held on St George's Day and concludes with the Great British Asparagus Run.

The round of Gras was tied in willow twine and driven away in a top-down Morgan classic car to the luxury London department store Fortnum & Mason, Piccadilly, where it will feature on a seasonal menu.

The ceremony marks the start of the eight-week UK growing season.

Organiser Angela Tidmarsh said: "We're here to celebrate everything good and great about Britain.

"It is so eccentric but it really does make people think about English asparagus.

"It's an old vegetable going back to Roman times, and the Vale of Evesham grows the best in the country."

During the event, a giant round of asparagus took centre stage in the pub's courtyard and there was a table piled high with asparagus soap shaped like the vegetable and jars of asparagus jam to sample.

There were also appearances by Gus the Asparagusman, Eve the Asparagus Fairy and asparamancer Jemima Packington, who uses asparagus sticks to tell the future.

Elsewhere in Worcestershire, bells rang out for St George as revellers celebrated in the name of England’s patron saint.

Worcester Cathedral rang its bells straight after Evensong between 6.15pm and 7pm last night as part of a campaign which aimed to get as many churches as possible ringing their bells.

The Ringing for England campaign encouraged 44,000 bell ringers to ring the 28,000 bells in the 15,000 churches across England.

The cathedral bell ringers rang 1,265 different combinations of their 12 bells.

Mark Regan, ringing master at Worcester Cathedral, said: “Church bells are the biggest and loudest musical instrument so when they’re rung, it’s a good reminder of the role churches and cathedrals play at the centre of our community as well as a celebration of Englishness on St. George’s Day.”

Other churches which took part in the bell ringing included All Saints in Evesham, St John the Baptist in Bromsgrove and St. Mary’s Church, Oldswinford.