A SHORT film about Bridgwater Carnival’s spectacular squibbing display has been viewed over one million times on YouTube.

In November 2021, YouTuber Tom Scott visited Bridgwater and got involved in the town’s record-breaking pyrotechnic display, which saw 250 people take part.  

The six-minute video documents his nerve-wracking carnival experience as he donned his PPE and held a lit firework aloft as part of the unique Bridgwater tradition.

Tom, who started his YouTube channel in 2006 and now has 4.88 million subscribers, creates popular explainer and experience videos.

His YouTube career has also seen him experience freefall in a zero-gravity plane, take the world’s shortest flight, and visit the ocean floor in a ‘diving gondola’ in Germany.

His video filmed in Bridgwater, ‘The town where holding fireworks over your head is a tradition’, has now reached just over 1.1 million views.

At the start of the video, Tom said: “This is Bridgwater in south-west England and today, I’ll be holding a terrifying amount of pyrotechnics directly above my head in a big parade with a couple of hundred other people.

“This isn’t going to be a normal video because, honestly, I’m not really sure what happens next. I have no script beyond this point.

“They just said, ‘Do you want to be in the squibbing display?’. And I said ‘yes’.”

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Before taking part in the display, he met Dave Creedy, Bridgwater Carnival’s squibbing officer, who explained the history of squibbing, how the tradition has evolved since the 1600s, and the steps taken to ensure the spectacular event goes ahead safely.

He was also shown a squib, a category four firework tailor-made for Bridgwater Carnival, and a cosh.

In the video comments, one viewer said: “I’m only now thinking about how many crazy memories Tom is going to have to look back on when he’s old. This guy sure does a lot of stuff.”

Another commented: “I think the best part of this was Dave being very realistic and responsible with how the tradition has had to change in the modern world.

“So many times, you see people who get angry and dig in their heels at the idea of traditions changing, rather than enthusiastically figuring out how to adapt them to keep them alive.”

While the squibbing display still went ahead, other traditional Bridgwater Carnival events were replaced by a walking parade and Sedgemoor Masquerade Week in November because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Video: YouTuber takes part in Bridgwater’s squibbing display