Santa signals arrival of Christmas in Emsworth

Emsworth's Christmas lights switch-on / Picture by Habibur Rahman

Hundreds of people turned out to watch Emsworth'sÂ oldest resident - and two of its youngest - switch on the Christmas lights.

The town centre was packed on Friday evening for the annual event which saw two young twins and the oldest lady in the village push the button on the lights display.

Sarah Waters went along with her family and friends. She said: "We come every year and we really love it. This year the local school choirs sang as well and I think my favourite part was the float that went through the middle of the crowd with Santa on it."

Friend Meg Bono added: "It is all so magical. It is also a tradition that we come every year and it marks the start of Christmas for us as we then put up our tree and all our decorations."

The 37-year-old added: "The kids absolutely love it and is a great town event every year."

See above some great footage from the event, shot by John Tweddell