Thornbury High Street was packed as thousands of people came together to celebrate the official switching-on of the Christmas lights in the town.

The official ceremony took place this evening with Bristol Bears star Joe Batley coming out to throw his support behind the event.

The Mayor of Thornbury Angela Symonds was also at the event and said: "It is wonderful to see so many people together at this event.

"The event has been really good and a massive thank you to the organisers and groups that help put this together."

The event is organised by the Thornbury Christmas Lights Association.

A charity called BRACE were also at the event and were selected as a partner, their website can be found here

Bristol Bears' 6 ft 5 player Joe Batley echoed Angela's words, praising the organisers and the charities at the event, he also showed off his sign language skills.

"It is a privilege to be here to turn on the lights," he said.

"It is also fantastic that a charity like BRACE can have the opportunity to be involved."

When speaking to the Gazette whilst collecting money with the charity volunteers at the event, the flanker/number 8 said: "It is a lot bigger than I was expecting and there is a lot of people here.

"I got messaged about it I was really happy to be involved.

"We aim to be communicative and so it was nice to come down here."