HUNDREDS flocked to Altrincham town centre for the the Parade of Light and big Christmas lights switch-on.

Competition winner Louise Barber and pop icon Noddy Holder took centre stage as they switched on the lights.

Before the big switch-on families enjoyed lantern-making, face painting and appearances from the cast of Frozen and Alice in Wonderland on Ice.

Santa’s magical grotto was open at Art with a Heart, and visitors were treated to an afternoon of live festive music, with highlights including Magic Voices, The Music Place Choir, Rock Choir and Broomwood Primary School.

With more than 500 lanterns created during the day, an impressive Parade of Light twinkled its way through the town, to join the switch-on show on November 19, hosted by Key 103’s Darren Proctor.

A crowd of more than 1500 people were wowed by performances from Blank Cheque, Captain Christmas and his Merry Band, the cast of Frozen and Little Belters children’s choir. Darren was then joined on stage by Altrincham Unlimited’s Christmas Star competition winner Louise Barber, and former Slade singer Noddy Holder, who uttered the immortal line ‘It’s Christmaaas!’ to kick off the festive season in Atrincham.

Altrincham Unlimited manager, Katie Bland said: “Saturday’s Parade of Light and Christmas Lights Switch-On was a fantastic event for Altrincham.

"The town was packed all day with hundreds of families enjoying the lantern making, Santa’s Grotto and other festive activities and the attendance for the evening switch-on event was phenomenal, with more than 1500 people in Stamford Square and George Street to watch the show.

“We would like to thank everyone who made the day such a success, in particular our new Welcome Team, kindly provided by Tesco Altrincham, who did a great job guiding visitors around the town, and all the performers who helped to create such a brilliant atmosphere throughout the day.

“This is just the start of Christmas activity in Altrincham this year, with Christmas Markets, Late Nights Shopping, Santa’s Grotto and much more taking place between now and Christmas.

"Visitors can find details of all these events and more at www.altrinchamunlimited.co.uk”