HUNDREDS of people turned out to see the switching on of Portishead’s Christmas lights.
Crowds gathered at the Precinct in High Street, entertained by BBC weather girl Jemma Cooper, while they waited for Santa and his guests to arrive to help flick the switch.
Jemma was joined on stage by the Christmas VIP, the Portishead royal family, town council chairman Arthur Terry, carnival co-organiser Wendy Watkins, Lorraine Schneider and her daughter Helen.
Lorraine is the widow of Mike Schneider, a former lights committee member and long-term supporter of the lights, who died earlier this year.
A firework display concluded the festivities and children were able to hand their letters to Santa before he returned to his sleigh and disappeared to prepare for his big night.
The town’s Christmas lights are the result of a great deal of hard work by a group of volunteers who work tirelessly to provide the illuminations each year.
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