PEWSEY shimmered and glittered like a lit up Christmas tree on Saturday as the village's lights were turned on to kick off the festive period.

Numbers were slightly down on previous years as there was no lantern parade or duck race, but that did not stop the place looking resplendent as lights weaved a spiders web over the High Street, the main square, North Street, River Street and the river.

Those who did attend gathered at 5.30pm and Pewsey Carnival attendant Hannah Parsons did the honours and flicked the switch after Rev Mark Windsor said a few words beforehand.

Nigel Lihou, who put up the village's lights, said: "It was a shame that it did not all come together with the other events that usually bring in more people but the place looks great and a lot of the children really liked it.

"We are pretty happy with how it all looks, especially using over 115m of lights over the river."

Mr Windsor added: "It was quite a low key affair but the centre still looks absolutely lovely. The lights really look superb this year, especially over the river. It is a really good thing to be part of."