The Grinch may have stolen Christmas but the cynical grump was also named as the best festive window display in Cirencester.

Organised by Cirencester Chamber of Commerce, the annual competition saw businesses go all out in making their front window displays as seasonal as possible.

Residents and visitors were asked to tour the town as part of the competition and vote for their favourite window display, while adhering to social distancing rules.

Awarded the Peter Stringfellow Memorial Trophy this year was Thirty Six, who can proudly display it in their shop for the year.

Their popular window featured The Grinch and a poem, inspired by Dr Seuss, in support of the Shop Local campaign.

Proprietor Chris Roche is passionate about his business and wanted to use his window display to encourage local residents to support their high street retailers.

Chris said: "Our window plays with some of the themes in 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas!' by Dr Seuss.

"This might seem odd coming from a retailer, being as the book deals with materialism and excess, but I wanted to show how 'Shopping Locally' will be increasingly important in the coming years.

"Every pound you spend with a local business gets recycled back into the local economy - money spent in our shop doesn't go to an off-shore tax haven, it will pay for things like my son's nursery fees and swimming lessons.

"It was firmly tongue-in-cheek and the reaction was overwhelmingly positive.

"We've been sent plenty of 'Grinch' selfies on social media over the last months so hopefully, alongside all the other fantastic Christmas window displays in the town, it brought a smile to the face after a tough year for everyone.'

Thirty Six is one of over 130 local shops, traders and businesses that signed up to Cirencester Town Council’s ‘Shop Local - put your money where your heart is’ initiative and featured in the shopping guide that was delivered to households in the GL7 area.

With non-essential retail now closed until further notice, it’s now more important than ever to support local businesses, many of whom are offering a click and collect service.

To support local businesses, the Cirencester Chamber of Commerce also launched the inaugural Christmas Bauble Hunt.

All participating retailers were issued with a numbered bauble.

People had to match businesses across the town with the correctly numbered baubles, with a prize for the entrant with the most correctly numbered baubles.

The winner of the Christmas Bauble Hunt was Elizabeth Breakspear-Jones who correctly identified all the windows.

She wins a £50 voucher, courtesy of the chamber, to be redeemed as and when restrictions are lifted at her chosen participating retailer.

Elizabeth was undergoing a course of radiotherapy in December so doing the hunt with daughter Catherine Morton and granddaughter Connie Trigle helped take her mind off things and ensured she got daily exercise.