Portishead Christmas lights will be switched on, on Monday November 25, by 401 marathon man Ben Smith and famous blogger and Inspirational Mum of the Year (2017) Heidi Loughlin.

This year the lights will be switched on from a lorry, acting as the stage, that will park across the High Street outside The Old Mill.

MC for the ceremony, which will begin at 6.15pm, will once again be carnival co-organiser and BBC presenter Jemma Cooper, who will be joined on stage by Ben, Heidi, a number of sponsors and of course Santa!

The switch on will see Father Christmas and his sleigh, escorted by the local emergency services, make its way through the town centre from Clarence House to the Reeds Rains junction of High Street and Stoke Road.

Santa and his elves will then walk through the crowds to the stage, collecting letters from children as they go.

Santa asks grownups to please remind children who write to him to include their address and he will do his best to reply. There will also be a post box inside the Goodman and Lilley office.

The switch on will conclude with a fantastic firework display, sponsored once again this year by Future Bathrooms. Family run Future Bathrooms has continued to be a main sponsor of the lights and the firework display for many years, for which the lights committee is extremely grateful. Other sponsors this year include F H Halliday & Son and Lime Tree Dental Practice. Portishead Raft Race and Soap Box Race will hand over cheques at the switch on and other contributors include Posset Singers, who donated £500, the proceeds from their summer concert, and will be donating the proceeds of their winter concert which takes place on December 1 at Somerset Hall.

A spokesman for the lights said: "We are very lucky to receive financial support from so many - the town council, our sponsors and many groups and individuals. This year once again we received donations from a number of funerals including that of Rosemary Westley who helped switch on the lights last year. Gordano Lodge Freemasons have supported us this year too and we have been nominated for the Waitrose green token initiative. There are far too many contributors to list them all but we are very grateful for every single penny donated - thank you."

The switch on will go ahead no matter what the weather. The High Street will be closed from 6pm.