ANYONE struggling to find the Christmas spirit this year should look no further than Poole's feel-good festive treat Peter Pan.

Traditional through and through, this pantomime has everything you'd expect and more.

Shouts of "Behind You" and "Oh no he didn't" echo around the Lighthouse as panto stars hurl sweets into the audience and give families a dowsing with giant water pistols.

The jokes come thick and fast with gags for all ages. Little ones were in hysterics when Smee shouted "Knickers and bums" and there were plenty of topical jokes for the grown-ups with the Bournemouth Air Festival, Sandbanks and Poole's Twin Sails Bridge all getting a bit of stick.

Impressive flying scenes saw Peter Pan soar above the audience and Wendy, John and Michael appearing to fly high over the streets of London.

And a hilarious acrobatic performance by the pirates was definitely not as easy as they made it look.

This year's panto is a truly local affair with the Lighthouse producing its very own show for the first time.

Star of the show Debra Stephenson, probably best known for her hugely successful roles in Coronation Street and Bad Girls, comes from Poole and funnyman Michael 'Abs' Absalom, who plays pirate Smee, is a former pupil of Dumpton School in Wimborne.

Even the spectacular costumes are home-grown thanks to the Arts University College Bournemouth.

There were strong performance from the children in the cast but there seems little doubt that Gary Turner's Captin Hook is the real star of the show.

The story of the boy who never grew up runs until January 9 and if you feel like behaving like a kid again, it's the place to be this Christmas.