AN annual battle re-enactment is taking place at the weekend, to commemorate a local conflict during the English Civil War.

The Battle of Ripple, on April 13, 1643, saw the Royalist troops of Prince Maurice drive back William Waller's Parliamentarian soldiers from Ripple, near Upton-upon-Severn, to Tewkesbury.

Eighty men were killed in the fighting and another 80 drowned crossing the River Severn, though the final death toll is believed to have hit 500 by the following week.

On Sunday, the Sealed Knot re-enactment group will be recreating the historic event, fully armed and in traditional outfits of the day. The 'troops' will parade in full dress from Ripple Church to the nearby battle site, on Ordnance Hill, from 2pm.

The public is encouraged to go along and watch the fun, and there will be refreshments on hand.