Visitors to Vale Park in New Brighton in Wirral were surprised with a visit today from Darth Vader.
Local resident Jason Thomas Richardson spotted the Star Wars character moving slowly through the flower gardens of the park from his window.
He shared a video of the unusual sight on social media with the quip: "May the 4th be with you" which received dozens of comments from amused locals.
The visit had been organised by the owners of nearby Coffee Roast Café and as well as being aimed at giving parkgoers a Star Wars themed surprise for May 4, café owner Richie Pitt says he also wanted to support actors who have been adversely affected by the pandemic.
Richie told the ECHO: "It’s because it’s the 4th of May and Saul (Darth Vader) and myself are actors and do this sort of thing for a living.
"I own the coffee roast at Vale Park and we have been working through the pandemic, and trying to support artists throughout as they have been unable to work.
He added: "This is our way of still being able to perform."
Saul Murphy, who played the Star Wars villain, told the ECHO: "It's the first year we're doing this - Ritchie runs the café with his partner Hazel, but his background is in the theatre and we both have a production company.
"My background is acting, directing and producing and the end of last year I finished a degree in film production.
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"There's not a great deal on in the industry right now - I've been working in the café so this is just a way of utilising our skills over what's been a difficult year.
"If you want to be creative and you're not it drives people mad.
"Me and Ritchie run a company called Story Time with Santa and we put shows on at the town hall, at St. George's Hall and the Floral Pavilion every year. We have the proper Star Wars costumes and were planning to do themed events.
"We're still not back at work at the theatre, although obviously we've got some things planned and we'll be doing more events here in the summer."
Saul said: "Over lockdown, Ritchie was offering any full-time performer 75% off their bill and a lot of people took us up on that offer - local guys who travel the world on cruise ships, local singers, performers we work with.
"We want to turn the café more into an arty venue where performers can come, working in between jobs and grabbing onto the skills, make it a creative hub here."
He says the reaction they had from the event today was "positive" despite the poor weather.
Saul said: "The weather wasn't very good but the reaction that we did get was positive and there were a few kids down enjoying themselves, one kid even came down especially for his birthday, which was just lovely.
"We're really excited how things will develop over the next year now, there's just so much going on in New Brighton, it's great to be a part of it."
