ORGANISERS of two successful festive nights have thanked the community for its support - and are now urging shoppers to support local traders this Christmas. 

Seasonal events on Friday in Dursley and Saturday in Cam were both well attended with late night openings, fireworks, stalls, crafts, fairground rides, Shetland ponies dressed as reindeers and grottos. 

Deputy Dursley mayor Mandy Woodward who is also vice-chair of Festive Dursley said: “Friday was a lovely evening, the town mayor switched on the lights and we had a record amount of children visiting Father Christmas this year. 

“We installed new lights across Parsonage Street this year which was possible by a grant from Gloucestershire County Council.

“Lots of local businesses stayed open later than normal for the evening. 

“One trader told me that their shop was full of people and the King’s Head had a busy evening, which is lovely to hear.”

One of the organisers of Cam's festive night Anita Wiltshire said: "The community of Cam have supported us in past years, but came out in droves this year.

"It was an even bigger and better event, a stonking year and all crafters at the market did really well." 

It comes as the Chamber of Trade which covers the Dursley, Berkeley and Wotton area issued an urgent plea to support high streets as the cost of living crisis bites this Christmas. 

This is part of a campaign called ThinkLocalFirst which encourages householders to shop locally rather than online.

“This year, as every year, we encourage our communities to shop locally where they can,” said chairperson of Chamber of Trade, Tony Davey. 

“Many businesses have worked very hard to bring quality goods to their customers at a fair price, and our high streets never fail to deliver at Christmas time.

“Spending locally isn’t simply keeping businesses open - it feeds the local economy and that has huge benefits for all.

“Using just one local, independent business starts money circulating in the local economy to other local businesses too - it “feeds” more than just the business you use.

“On average, £8 of every £10 you spend in a local, independent business stays in our local economy. 

“Of course, local businesses also support our local communities in so many ways, and those businesses also often do their best to minimise their impact on the environment - often in ingenious ways.

“If you must shop online, again we encourage you to check out local businesses who sell online first.”