Christmas in the capital got off to a cracking start after Douglas Borough Council staged a spectacular Christmas lights switch-on ceremony outside the Town Hall.

Crowds packed Ridgeway Street to hear Douglas Town Band, talented local singer Rebecca Forrest, the massed voices of the Roc Vannin choir and a fun-packed excerpt by the cast of Puss in Boots and the Three Musketeers, this year’s pantomime at the Gaiety Theatre, ahead of the main event, the Christmas lights switch-on.

For the switching on of the lights His Worship the Mayor Councillor Stan Cain JP was joined by a very special guest, Finley Hesketh, five and a half, who has been diagnosed with the incurable muscle-wasting disease Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

The Mayor with Finley Hesketh and Finley's mother, Kirstie

 When the lights were switched on and ‘snow’ began to fall Finley and the crowds were treated to a surprise: a spectacular fireworks display launched from the roof of the Town Hall and, completing the festivities, was Father Christmas in his grotto in the Ridgeway Street garden.

Council Leader Councillor David Christian MBE JP said: ‘The switch-on was a truly crowd-pleasing event which, with the introduction of a surprise fireworks display, made for a great start to the “official” festive season in Douglas.

‘The switching on of the lights is one of the Council’s largest community events and it is thanks to all the tremendous hard work of so many staff, not least the electrical services section, that the festivities are always such a success.

‘We were also delighted to welcome young Finley and his family to the Town Hall and for him to take centre stage with His Worship. His evident delight with the whole occasion brought home what this time of the year is all about and we wish him and his family all the very best for Christmas.’

Santa in his grotto with Kylan and Leon Murphy, four and six