Sidmouth couldn't hold a St George's Day parade this year – but instead, an old-style silent movie has been made with a highly topical twist.

The 13-minute film 'St George and the Covid' tells the story of how the brave soldier overcomes the evil virus with the help of a potion created by the local alchemist.

The story is – naturally- set in Sidmouth, and St George tracks down the Covid at its lair in Beer Quarry Caves.

The comedy Covid character will be recognised by viewers of Sidmouth's 'people's pantomime' last Christmas – the costume was made by Barry Morton for the panto, and he wrote the film for Sid Vale Community Productions.

The Covid character is mainly played by Chris Hardy in the film, with Barry returning to the role towards the end, and Marc Colson plays St George.

Janet Dowling from the group, who plays the Mayor of Sidmouth, said: "It was a last-minute decision to do something for St George's Day, so with less than 10 days to April 23rd, the silent movie / captions meant that no one had to learn any words, and everyone just had to follow directions.

"John Flanagan was the director with Barry and Liz Owen, with John, did the filming on a mobile phone.

"We filmed at 6pm on April 22, took 90mins and was rushing to get it done before the light faded. No time for second shots! Then John worked on it overnight to get it out for the 23rd April - St Georges Day.

"St George was originally going to be using one of the hobby horses so well beloved of Sid Vale Community Productions, but two days before the filming the rocking horse was found on a skip and made the perfect horse for St George. We hope the rocking horse will feature in future SVCP events. No rocking horses were harmed during the course of filming."