HUNDREDS of people joined a Good Friday march through a Suffolk town – reviving a tradition which died out centuries ago.The silent walk through Sudbury was the town's first united Procession of Witness to mark Good Friday for hundreds of years and organisers believed around 600 people took part.

HUNDREDS of people joined a Good Friday march through a Suffolk town – reviving a tradition which died out centuries ago.

The silent walk through Sudbury was the town's first united Procession of Witness to mark Good Friday for hundreds of years and organisers believed around 600 people took part.

David Rout, chairman of Churches Together – which was behind the march, said: “So many people from the town told us they had been affected by watching Easter Story, the street drama which the churches performed around Sudbury last year.

“It is too big a production to undertake annually, but building on the experience we have planned a whole weekend of events this year to help people celebrate Easter in different ways.

“The silent walk from All Saints' Church to Market Hill gathered members of other churches on the way through Cross Street, Gregory Street, the Croft and North Street.”

He said the Good Friday silent walk had been a familiar site in Sudbury centuries ago but he believed this was the first for hundreds of years.

Today, families and shoppers are being invited to drop in to St Peter's Church in Sudbury to see what Easter means to people.

Mr Rout said: “We want to show that, although they are a great part of our tradition, there is much more to Easter than hot cross buns and Easter Eggs.

“In the children's corner young people can make their own Easter mobiles, table decorations and Easter cards. There will be a variety of speakers, music and dance, an audio-visual display and a bookshop. Hot Cross buns and other refreshments will be available.”

Good Friday was marked in Bury St Edmunds with a similar procession through the town.

Hundreds of Christians marked the special day with a Procession of Witness, which set off from St Edmundsbury Cathedral after a service.

Around 500 people paraded in silence from the cathedral along a route once taken by pilgrims through Churchgate Street, Guildhall Street and Cornhill.

At the Cornhill there were scripture readings, a drama presentation and a hymn. The procession then moved on in silence to the Abbey Gardens for a further hymn, prayers and a blessing.