CHRISTMAS lights will be put up in Warminster this year after the town council agreed to hire a local company at a cost of £14,000 to ensure the festive tradition continues.

Doubts were raised about the future of the lights and decorations when the Warminster Christmas Lights Committee disbanded in March, due several key volunteers retiring or stepping down because of work commitments.

The decision meant a lack of volunteers to put them up, but at a policy and resources meeting on June 8 it was decided to hire Westbury company Wheelers to perform the job.

Warminster councillor George Jolley said: “We had three quotes and we decided to choose this one which is not the cheapest but the best in the long term.

“Wheelers have done the lights for other towns like Westbury and Melksham and they will be providing a service to put up the lights, to manage them while they are on display, to take them down and store them as well as help with the erection of Christmas trees in the town.

“The people who did this for the last 17 years were fantastic and we knew not having these lights would be a loss to the town.

“We still need volunteers to help though in the build-up to the light switch-on on November 28.”

Anyone interested in volunteering should contact the town council on 01985 214847 or by email at admin@warminster-tc.gov.uk