Mr O'Keefe said he would confront the organisers of the bonfire event

Images of a pope are burned at the annual event and Joe O'Keefe from the nearby village of Newick has labelled it a "national disgrace".

Mr O'Keefe started his campaign after attending the celebrations for the first time in 2003.

Now he said he has gathered support from all over the world and set up the group Catholics Against Bigotry.

He is reading too much into the situation Keith Austin, Lewes Bonfire Society

Mr O'Keefe said: "What I saw on the streets of Lewes was a full blown sectarian march.

"Something that would not be allowed in Ireland and would not be allowed in Scotland and should not be allowed in Sussex."

Mr O'Keefe said he and other supporters are going to confront the organisers of the bonfire celebrations to stop the messages.

But Keith Austin, secretary of the Lewes Bonfire Society, said: "They are not really anti-Catholic messages.

"He is reading too much into the situation. It is a tradition of Lewes Bonfire - it has gone on for a long time since 1606 and basically we do not see any need to change it."

Mr O'Keefe and representatives from the bonfire society have agreed to meet to discuss the situation.