RESIDENTS of Lyme Regis will be rocking around the Christmas trees at the Baptist Church as they get into the festive spirit.

The annual Christmas Tree festival, organised by the Lyme Regis Regatta and Carnival committee and the Baptist Church is now open to the public, is now in its seventh year and this year is bigger than ever, with 29 trees decorated.

The festival was officially opened by the Town Mayor Sally Holman on Monday evening, and it will be open from 10.30am every day until 6pm tonight (Thursday), 7pm on Friday, and 2pm on Saturday, with admission free.

Alan Vian, one of the organisers of the festival, said: “People can come in to the church and enjoy the beautiful trees and also enjoy the Christmas carols that will be playing in the background.

“What is so special is that each tree is so different and has been decorated differently. Each of the trees is lit up and it is lovely because people who are shopping, whether they be local people or visitors to the town, can pop into the church for a little break and see these trees.

“Somebody said to me that they had come from Bridport and that she now knows Christmas has “officially started” because the tree festival has opened.

“Lyme Regis is a magical place during Christmas time, and this is just another aspect that adds to that.

“All of the trees are great and the most important thing is that we value each of the trees. My favourite part is where you can see the decorations on the trees that have been made by children, and their faces when they see their creations on the trees.”

Each of the trees has been decorated by 29 different organisations within the town, ranging from the Lyme Regis Majorettes to the Royal British legion, from the Christmas Lights committee to Amnesty International.

Accompanying the trees will also be charity buckets, with organisers urging the public to donate to their favourite trees with the money being raised by each bucket being given directly to the organisation.

Town Mayor Sally Holman said: “I was really impressed with all the trees and they are so individual and reflect the different organisations that have decorated them.

“There always seems to be more every year it is lovely, and it gives all the organisations a chance to participate. It really was beautiful.”