Largest coconut orchestra

The world's largest coconut orchestra led by Monty Python stars Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam has made it into the Guinness Book of Records. The coconut orchestra was part of the St George's Day festivities held across the capital

A total of 5,567 people, including the cast of the Monty Python musical Spamalot, gathered in London's Trafalgar Square to break the previous record of 1,789 people.

Jones told the crowd how the coconut orchestra originally came about while they were filming Monty Python And The Holy Grail.

"About halfway through filming we realised we couldn't afford horses and had to stick to coconuts," he said.

The members of the giant orchestra demonstrated their skills with a rendition of the Python classic, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, "clip-clopping" their coconut shells in time.

The previous record was set in March last year outside the Shubert Theatre in New York, to celebrate the first year anniversary of the Broadway production of Spamalot.

The coconut orchestra was part of the St George's Day festivities held across the capital over the past three days, with the aim of celebrating English culture.

This year's focus was English comedy and included a free programme of film and television comedy, ending with a special screening of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Spamalot, currently showing in the West End, is the brainchild of Python star Eric Idle.