LLANGOLLEN'S Christmas Festival has been cancelled due to Storm Arwen.

A scaled-down version of the town’s annual Christmas Festival, taking account of ongoing pandemic safety measures, was due to be staged on Saturday afternoon featuring a programme of entertainment in Centenary Square.

But town mayor Councillor Austin Cheminais, who also chairs the Christmas Festival Committee, said: "In view of the really bad weather forecast we have very reluctantly decided to cancel the event.

"I've been checking with a number of weather forecasts and they all predict very high winds. In fact, the Met Office is forecasting gusts up to 54mph and the gazebo in which the entertainment programme was to be staged just couldn't have coped with that.

"There was also a major question mark over whether the firework display which was to round off the afternoon could have gone ahead in these conditions."

He added: "We're really sorry to cancel but we've done it just to keep everybody safe.

"We will perhaps organise a post-Christmas event but of course we will let everyone know about that."