Neath group raises £5,000 in 24 hours for Christmas lights

Neath town centre could have Christmas lights this year after all

Residents in Neath feared that Christmas was cancelled after learning the local council would not fund their festive lights due to budget cuts.

But a campaign to light up the town could save the Christmas cheer after it raised almost £5,000 in 24 hours.

The Love Neath campaign saw £4,400 pledged in just one day after appealing to the community for help.

The group hopes to raise £11,000 by 12 November to ensure the lights are switched on for the festive period.

Dark Christmas

Neath, Port Talbot and Pontardawe town centres are all facing a dark Christmas after an all-Wales reduction in local authority funding.

The drop in funding was announced by the Welsh government in October, informing councils they will get £4.12bn in their block grants for for 2015 to 2016 - a cut of 3.4%.

The projected cost of the Christmas lights in Neath town centre is £8,700.

That includes the lights being put up, maintained, powered and eventually taken down, as well as £1,215 in energy costs and a charge for moving the "Welcome to Neath" sign.

Campaign organiser Emma Knight said she was "ecstatic" after so much cash was raised in such a short time.

She said: "The quicker we can get this money in, the quicker we can get the lights up."