SCORES of families lined a wet and windy Poole Quay on Sunday evening to see boats lit up with beautifully coloured lights.

Christmas on the Quay, organised by staff from The Jolly Sailor and supported by Poole Tourism, featured a host of sailing vessels of all shapes and sizes, some of which played festive tunes as they sailed and performed specialist manoeuvres.

See all the pictures from Christmas on the Quay including the Flotilla of Lights and Father Christmas here

These included vessels from Jenkins Marine, both lifeboats from Poole Lifeboat Station and a boat from the Poole unit of the Maritime Volunteer Service.

John Lambert, manager of The Jolly Sailor pub, said: "Considering the weather, it was a good turnout. We've been doing this for seven years now and we always raise a bit of money for local charities in the community, with this year's cause being Hamworthy Scout Group.

"We had 250 tickets for children under 10 to meet Father Christmas as everything for Christmas is geared up for making money and we wanted to allow families to do something for free."

Leading up to the main Flotilla of Lights parade on the water, which is organised by Poole Harbour Commissioners, children and their families enjoyed traditional carols, fake snow and workshops. Kids also had the chance to write a letter to Father Christmas in the Tourist Information Centre, which is based in Poole Museum, and learned how to make their own Victorian-inspired Christmas cards to send to loved ones.

The event also saw hundreds of people queue up to meet Father Christmas and his elves in a pop-up tent before receiving a chocolate bar to take home with them for Christmas Day.

Visitors could also enjoy mulled wine and mince pies being sold from a stall outside The Jolly Sailor and a host of food and drink and live entertainment from other venues and restaurants along the quay.