ONCE again, the front of Tavistock Town Hall will be a mass of sparkling white lights this Christmas, when on Friday November 28 at 7pm, Chris Northey, the president of the Lions' Club of Tavistock switches on the 'Trees of Light'.

Each bulb on the three Christmas trees will have been sponsored by an individual or family in memory of a loved one or a good cause, with all the proceeds going to charitable organisations, which this year will be Children's Hospice South West and the local branches of the Macmillan Nurses and Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The switching on will be followed by a short interdenominational service led by the local clergy, after which the rest of the town centre will then be illuminated with the main Christmas lights.

This will be the tenth year that the Lions' Club has organised the trees and to date, more than £30,000 has been raised.

For the fifth year, locally-based funeral directors Morris Bros (Tavistock) Ltd will be the main sponsor and the directors of the family owned company said that they were delighted to be supporting the project once again, as it ensured that all the money donated was given to the nominated local charities.

Lion Roger Lethbridge, the main tree of light organiser within the club, said that he was very pleased with the continued support from Morris Bros as well as Tavistock Woodlands, which donates the main tree, the Times Gazette for publishing the application form in its paper and also the Tavistock Town Council and staff for their assistance in erecting the trees.

Their continued support has helped the club raise a tremendous amount of money and to date, nearly £1,000 has been received for this year from previous donors.

In February this year, £2,806 was given to both Children's Hospice South West and the Tavistock Community Specialist Palliative Care Team from the money raised from last year's trees.

Further people wishing to sponsor a light on this year's trees can obtain a sponsorship form by contacting Roger on 07787 924380 or by completing the adjacent form.

A full list of donors will be published in the Times just before Christmas, with each one receiving a commemorative card in the New Year.