PEWSEY youngsters fired up their creativity for a lantern procession on Saturday evening ahead of the Christmas lights switch-on.

The evening of festivities started with the procession of children’s homemade lanterns through the village, starting at St John the Baptist Church and ending in the Market Place.

This is the fifth year the lantern parade has been held. Before this tradition was introduced, the lights were instead switched on at the end of the annual Christmas Fair.

Organiser Nigel Lihou said: “We don’t get the turnout big towns like Devizes and Marlborough get but it’s quite cute because it’s quite personal.

“We lead the kids along the back route by the Co op because there’s not much light there so they can see their lanterns working.

“It would be nice next year if we could advertise it a bit more to get more children involved.”

A lantern shaped like Saturn and a Chinese-style lantern using LED lights were given prizes for most innovative and best decorated.

Christmas officially started in the village when the lights were switched on in the Market Place at 6pm next to the King Alfred Statue.

The honours were carried out this year by carnival Queen Eleanor Smith and loud cheers were heard in Pewsey as the village was illuminated.

Volunteers had been out in force on the morning of November 30 putting up the lights, including across the village’s stretch of the River Avon, ready for the big switch-on.

Villagers then crowded together in the Market Place to enjoy carol singing led by the church choir.

Mr Lihou said: “It went down very well. All of the people that came along had a nice time.”

After the lights were switched on there was a duck race, with 300 plastic ducks making their way along the River Avon.

Some of the shops staying open late so visitors could enjoy a bit of shopping by moonlight.