THORNBURY's annual Christmas lights switch-on and funfair has been saved - but the event is moving to a Saturday and will be a more modest affair with no late-night shopping.

The popular event, which raises thousands of pounds for local charities, looked in jeopardy earlier this year following the shock redundancy of shopping centre manager Tony Wilcock, the lynchpin of the Yuletide celebrations since they were first held in 1997.

London management at shopping centre owners Peer Group admitted they were lukewarm about the fayre - traditionally held on a Tuesday evening in late November - in its current format.

Spokeman Robert Couchman said it required a huge amount of centre management time with little commercial benefit to shop tenants.

Councillors took exception to his view that the event had lost its original purpose of providing a family-orientated event.

Now Thornbury Christmas Lights Association and other local groups have come up with a rescue package, backed by Peer Group, which will see the event moving to Saturday, November 19 with the lights switch-on taking place in the shopping centre at 5.30pm.

There will be no High Steet road closure and subject to final agreements, the traditional funfair will move to the St Mary Street car park. Applications will also be made for the closure of St Mary Street and Chapel Street for most of the day.

Christmas Lights Association chairman Terry Press, who called a recent meeting on the future of the event, said the new date would coincide with the launch of the new Thornbury FM community radio station, the charity set to be the main beneficiary of this year's event.

"Something had to be done or the event would have been lost forever. It seemed to me that the town - and particuarly youngsters - would lose out if the lights switch-on just faded away. But events like this involve a lot of organising and time was ticking by."

He said Peer Group management were fully supporting the plan and had agreed to provide 600 gifts for a children's Santa Claus grotto so that all admission proceeds could go to charity. There was also likely to be two small fairground rides and a magician in the shopping centre during the day.

"The shopping centre manager Alan Cole is well on board and has already been working very hard to make sure event can go ahead," said Mr Press, a former town mayor who started the Christmas Lights Association with a colleague 14 years ago.

"The new-style event has support from all sides and we think it a good compromise in the circumstances.

"Closing High Street to traffic on a busy Saturday in the run up to Christmas was never going to a practical proposition and it certainly would not have been welcomed by traders."