"it isn't too long ago that the good people of Lewes were burning a caravan full of 'Pikeys' at their annual bonfire festival."

No, Jim. Travellers/Gypsies were chosen as the the Enemies of the Bonfire at the bonfire in Firle in 2003. A caravan was decorated with images of them and then burnt.

This article gives an insight into the bonfire at Firle.

Bonfire at Firle

A burning issue in the village; The Bonfire Night torching of a Gypsy caravan effigy, and the arrests of 12 Sussex villagers on race hate charges, are the latest twists in a long-running conflict, reports Mark Townsend

The Observer, Sunday 16 November 2003

Post Script

Twelve members of the bonfire society were accused of inciting racial hatred after the event in 2003. In July 2004, the Crown Prosecution Service found insufficient evidence for a prosecution after the arrests.