Many children and families turned out to follow the trail along the canal, take part in the tombola and maybe get a hug from Bentley the Bear.

Volunteering as Bentley was Dominic Russell, currently on furlough from performing at Disneyland Paris.

The trust’s boat team manager Chris Barry says: “I put the first post on the Facebook page about our Easter egg hunt and that evening he messaged asking if he could help.

“He didn’t have a costume but knew of Mascot Ambassadors, so on the Wednesday before Easter he drove to pick up the costume from Grantham and drove back again, and on the Thursday we did a dress rehearsal for the weekend.

“He’s usually a performer at Disneyland Paris. 

“We used the boat as a changing room for him and kept shutters on the windows so he wasn’t seen to be getting in and out of it. My job was to help him in and out of his costume. Every now and then he would give me a nod and I would go and help him out of it so he could have a break.

“He will be going back to Paris whenever Disney opens.

“We had a great time. Bentley started getting naughty and, with a bit of hinting from me, pushed me over and the children would roar with laughter and he would go round hugging people. He hugged one of our volunteers and she burst into tears because she hadn’t hugged anyone in a long time.”