Bumper crowds packed out Swanage and Corfe Castle at the weekend for the annual Christmas lights switch-on.

In Swanage, in a bid to provide the festive retail season a boost, traders organised their town centre event to coincide with late night shopping, Gary Parslow, from Swanage Chamber of Trade & Commerce, told the Daily Echo: “Many shops offered special deals on the day and after the big switch on people had time to visit some of our unique independent shops.

“Christmas is a magical time of year with lots of festive events and beautiful shops to enjoy in Swanage.

“The switch on is always well-supported and this year was no different.”

See all the pictures of Corfe Castle and Swanage light switch-on in a gallery here 

Meanwhile, at Corfe Castle festive crowds packed into the square to witness the 62nd consecutive Christmas Lights switch-on event in the village’s history.

Corfe Castle Christmas festivities committee member Liz Spicer-Short said the lights had all been strung up by local residents, who were eager to keep the tradition alive.

Long-term Corfe resident Mary Rose Bray switched the lights on at 5pm on Saturday.

Back in Swanage, where the lights were turned on half an hour earlier than the ones at Corfe, retailers reported brisk trade.

Shopper Stephen Charborough said: “It really gets you in the Christmas mood to see all the festive preparations going on. This is how Christmas should be in our town centres, not like the chaotic scenes we had on this so-called ‘Black Friday’ yesterday.

“I’m glad to see Swanage appears to have got into the spirit of Christmas.”