HUNDREDS of people bearing lanterns and sparklers converged on Whitchurch Pimple to see the Millennium beacon lit at dusk on New Year's Eve.
After the bonfire was lit, David Gorbutt, of Tavistock, read the poem Ring Out, Wild Bells by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
Gill Gorbutt, who organised the beacon along with Cllr Caroline Keane, said she was 'very pleased' with the turnout.
'I was quite surprised at how many people did come up, but I think everyone enjoyed it,' she said.
She paid tribute to Rob Mulliner and Brian Bullimore who helped with the organisation of the beacon.
'They worked so hard in terms of getting the wood and organising the base of the bonfire — without them it wouldn't have happened.'
Cllr Keane said: 'I thought it went jolly well and it fitted in with everyone's own arrangements perfectly.'
She thanked Tavistock's Millennium committee for its support and Edmund Kaminski, who supplied the kindling for the bonfire.
And many gathered in Tavistock's Bedford Square just before midnight, to listen to prayers by the Rev John Rawlings, Vicar of Tavistock, and Father Sunny Paul, of the Catholic Church.
Mr Rawlings said: 'I was very pleased and really quite overwhelmed by it because I didn't really know what to expect.
'Certainly, by 11.45 the new bit of the square was covered in people, most of whom brought their Millennium candles — there must have been a few hundred there.'
Mr Rawlings said everyone gathered in the square was in good spirits and it was 'very worthwhile' making the effort to be there.
'We did some prayers, we gave everybody a blessing together and we waited for the bells to ring, then everybody cheered — it was a lovely atmosphere,' he said.
As the last stroke of midnight faded, the night sky above the town was lit up with fireworks and dozens of explosions welcomed the dawn of a new century.
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