A town in Gloucestershire is getting ahead of the rest of Britain by beginning to put up their Christmas decorations in October!
The team of highly-spirited volunteers in Coleford, Gloucester, will leave no stone unturned by rigorously testing each bulb and fitting.
Kevin Wilkins, 44, of the Coleford Christmas Lights Committee shone a light on the reason behind the early start, "There are over 160 illuminations and everything has to be checked for safety. When people moan we just say "Merry Christmas". We are down on volunteers at the moment and if we had more we could start later."
Town clerk Annie Lapington said the council relied on residents rather than contractors to put up the decorations because it was "more cost-effective".
She said, “We give a grant to the group so our Christmas lights are much more cost-effective than other towns. Our Christmas lights are done by a group of volunteers who only work on a Sunday. They have six Sundays in which to put up a fantastic display before they are switched on, on the last Friday in November. They are moving to totally LED lights which are much more environmentally friendly."
