IT may be the middle of summer but Didcot Town Council is hoping to spread some Christmas cheer by revealing the town's new festive light display.

Having bought Didcot's current set of lights secondhand about ten years ago, the town council agreed it was high time the display was updated.

Armed with a budget of £15,000, the environment committee chose the new garlands which will be switched on at the 23rd Didcot Christmas Street Fair this year.

Councillor Jo Nash said she hoped the new lights would "bring a bit of Christmas spirit".

She said: "By having some nice new lights down the Broadway we are hoping to draw people down to the shops there, as it is a really important local shopping hub.

"A lot of people who own businesses there are worried about the Orchard Centre and how it will take business away from them, so it was important for us to make the Broadway key in the new Christmas light design.

"We are starting the lights off at the Civic Hall all the way down to the Baptist House and we are going to have lights in the trees."

Councillor Bernard Cooper was particularly keen to have lights in the Hawthorn trees in the town centre, and there will also be illuminated motifs on lamp posts.

Ms Nash added: "It is all going to be themed together and I'm really excited. I'm hoping it is going to look really great."

The environment committee were presented with three different packages of lights from three different companies.

Blachere Illumination were the winning company with their package including sparkling stars in the Beech trees at the Civic Hall, on the tree opposite the Haydon Road junction and in the Oak trees at the Baptist House.

The display also includes 18 motifs on the lampposts and lights along the Broadway.

Ms Nash said: "We decided to go with Blachere because their proposal was just fantastic.

"We had £15,000 in the budget every year but they were going to charge £10,000 for the first year then £5,500 for the following two.

"They offered us the most lights for the best price and hopefully the money we didn't spend can be put into the budget somewhere else.

"The whole point of this is to bring a bit of Christmas spirit – I'm hoping when people see them they will realise what we've been missing."

Jeanette Howse, chairwoman of Didcot Events and Didcot Christmas Street Fair, announced that the theme for this year's street fair will be a fitting one for all the bright lights – Broadway Musicals.

She said her committee had originally hoped to hold a four-day Winter Festival in the Orchard Centre this Christmas but the management, unsure what the centre will look like in November due to major renovations, asked if that could be postponed until 2017.

So she said: "We have decided to change the theme, and, as our main street is The Broadway, we will be celebrating Broadway Musicals."

The Didcot Christmas Street Fair will take place on Thursday, November 24, where the new Christmas lights will make their debut.