Record numbers turn out to see lights switched on

Approximately 12,000 people are estimated to have come to the Christmas lights switch-on and fireworks display on Bedford Embankment on Sunday night.

The now traditional fireworks display to mark the start of the Christmas season here in Bedford, with lights switched-on to illuminate across the town is always a popular event in the local calendar

This was the finale to a great weekend in town, with the Bedford Christmas Fair in the Harpur Centre, Harpur Square and Harpur Suite on Saturday and Sunday with stalls, entertainment, Transformers, Anna and Elsa from Frozen 2, and free fairground rides.

Services for people sleeping rough have
increased with the opening of an ‘Assessment
& Somewhere Safe to Stay’ Hub, in the heart of
Bedford town centre.

The Hub is open 24 hours a day, offering
emergency homelessness advice and somewheresafe for people who are sleeping rough to stay for a short time.