FESTIVE goodwill has prevailed as a bid to save the Christmas celebrations in Barrow from being cancelled has been officially launched.

A newly formed committee made up of seven volunteers has joined forces with The Evening Mail in the hope of hosting their own replacement celebration.

Anger spread on Tuesday when it emerged council chiefs had pulled the plug on the Barrow Christmas lights switch-on.

It was hoped that the newly formed Barrow Business Improvement District group would save the day but its board voted seven to five against it.

Darren McSweeney was instrumental in mobilising volunteers over social media and has helped organise a meeting tomorrow alongside Simon McCarthy, who is already heavily involved with Barrow Foodbank.

Mr McSweeney said: "We got together and thought, can we do anything to rescue this?

""We will thrash out who are the right people to work with and the right people to liaise with and give it a go.

"We understand the position of the council and the BID but we are sure we can do something on a lower budget."

While many have accepted the council is right to adjust its budget because of cutbacks, most people have expressed disbelief that a smaller-scale alternative has not been planned.

Mr McSweeney said: "I could see it being scaled down with the budget cuts but we were hoping the BID could help, but as a new organisation, you have to respect their decision.

"I would rather have local school kids singing and be involved than X-Factor contestants. We are hoping to shift it back to what it was and make a community event where we can also do something good for the foodbank."

Barrow Borough Council leader, Councillor Dave Pidduck, denied Christmas had been "cancelled" and confirmed lights would be hung across the town as usual.

He said: "As people know, the most severe government public spending cuts in living memory are causing local councils across the nation to re-think their finances – and Barrow is no exception.

"Barrow Council is being forced to trim its budget by £2.37m and that is bound to have an impact on what we are able to deliver for our residents and that means we cannot fund a large-scale switch-on like last year."

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