A BONFIRE will burn bright from the top of the Malvern Hills to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s 60 years on the throne.

It will be lit by Malvern Hills Conservators on the evening of her Diamond Jubilee, Monday, June 4.

It will be one of 2,012 beacons being lit in sequence that night right across the Commonwealth and its location at the top of the Worcestershire Beacon will ensure it can be seen for miles around.

Malvern has a long tradition of lighting beacons to celebrate special events.

The most recent was for the millennium, while as far back as 1897 a fire was lit on top of the Beacon to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.

Another was lit in 1953 to honour the current Queen’s coronation.

On that occasion the fire was lit by a fresh-faced boy Scout named Anthony Cotgreave, and Conservators members were thrilled when he accepted an invitation to repeat that duty at the upcoming celebrations.

“We were delighted he agreed and of course we will be inviting people to come up to the hills and join us for the celebrations,” said deputy director Rob Havard.

“It’s an exciting occasion for us to be part of and in the past we have had huge crowds for events like this.”

Permission for the bonfire has been granted by Natural England.

It will be constructed on the day on top of a protective mat and a base layer of sand, to avoid any damage to what is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

The Conservators are also organising several other events to mark the jubilee.

They will be planting trees and dedicating an avenue of oaks in Barnards Green, and planting a new spinney of black poplar trees – one of the rarest varieties in the UK – at Castlemorton Common.