Thornbury Christmas lights off to a flying start

1:00pm Monday 10th November 2008

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CHRISTMAS lights in Thornbury will be helping to keep the region's air ambulance in the skies.

The annual Christmas light switch-on in the town will this year raise money for the Great Western Air Ambulance.

George Jackson, from the Thornbury Christmas Lights Association, said: "We have during the switch on evening up to 14 to 15 stalls which are taken by local charities to do their own thing and raise money.

"But every year we also have a main benefactor from the event. What we do is have a bucket collection in the street during the switch-on and this year money from that will go to the Great western Air Ambulance.

"We will not be having a celebrity this year to do the switch-on instead staff from the air ambulance will be there to help.

"We have chosen the air ambulance because they are a fairly new charity and certainly a very important one and since it started it has already helped several people local to Thornbury."

The air ambulance, which is based at Filton airfield, was launched in June and covers the entire South Gloucestershire area.

The grand Thornbury switch-on is being held on Tuesday, November 18, with a fun fair in the High Street from 5.30pm and the main switch-on at 7pm.

Visitors to the town are reminded that the High Street will be closed to traffic from 9.30am to 11pm, on Tuesday, November 18.

The Thornbury Christmas Lights Association is run completely by volunteers and it costs approximately £6,000 every year to light up the town ready for the holidays.

Mr Jackson, said: "We are always looking for new members who might like to get involved one way or another and anyone interested should come and find out a bit more at the switch-on where there will be plenty of us from the association around to answer questions."