Video: Hundreds celebrate Swaffham Christmas lights switch on

Martin George Friday, November 30, 2012
10:15 PM

Hundreds of people braved sub-zero temperatures to count down to the official switch on of Swaffham’s Christmas lights this evening.

Families cheered as Father Christmas arrived in the town centre on his sleigh, where he met up with two of his reindeer by his grotto near the Greyhound pub.

Group Captain David Cooper, station commander of RAF Marham, thanked Swaffham residents for their support before he pressed the button that lit the illuminations on the Buttercross, Assembly Rooms and trees around the Market Place at 6.15pm.

The crowd cheered as pupils from Sacred Heart and Swaffham Junior schools took turn singing carols on the stage, while children queued up to meet Father Christmas and receive a special present.

The event, organised and funded by the Swaffham Business Forum, with a contribution from the town council, also included an indoor market, a hog roast, a climbing wall for children and a fun fair whose proceeds will help fund the restoration of the Pedlar of Swaffham sign.