Lights beat power glitch

But help came from all sides to save the day. When Tomsetts shoe shop was plunged into darkness the neighbouring Vulcan Grill, where lights still blazed, volunteered to accommodate the band's sound system which until then was rigged up, along with cassette players providing backing music for children, at Tomsetts.

The power came back on just in time for the ceremony, but with fuses blown and time switches thrown out of sync there was still scope for disaster. Fortunately, the man responsible for installing the town's lights, David Lowe of Ultralight, a Surrey firm, was on hand and he went around correcting all the faults.

Heathfield town manager Mrs Yvonne Hutchinson was full of praise for those who stepped in to help. 'It was a great example of festive spirit at work,' she said.

Earlier there had been a hitch when the fun fair came to town expecting to be able to set up on part of the Co-op car park only to find cars occupying the space.

'Fortunately most of the spaces were occupied by traders and as soon as they realised the problem they came out and moved their cars. We were very grateful to the Co-op and to Rix and Kay for opening up their car parks to the fair,' said Mrs Hutchinson.