Cllr Nigel Gawthrope switches on the Arbury Christmas lights

The mayor was in the Cambridge ward on Tuesday to kick off the Christmas festivities.

He told the Cambridge Independent: “It went famously – we had choirs from the North Cambridge Academy, The Grove and Arbury Primary School.

"I switched the lights on, the vicar opened the proceedings and we sang carols. We were there for about an hour chatting and taking photographs. It was a very good turnout – there must have been around 150 people.”

Cllr Gawthrope added it was slightly different from other switch-ons.

“There were more people and it was the first one I’d done where there was more than one choir,” he said.