NEILSTON’S Christmas lights switch-on is set to be bigger and better than last year, thanks to a bumper cash boost.

The village held its first-ever Christmas lights switch-on celebration in December 2017, with more than 1,500 people in attendance.

Last year’s festivities featured live music, a candlelit parade led by Neilston and District Pipe Band and an appearance by Santa Claus himself.

The event was made possible through support from the National Lottery Awards for All programme, which ensured Neilston would be able to afford Christmas lights for three years.

Now members of the Neilston War Memorial Association (NWMA) have been successful in securing a further grant of £5,000 to help boost this year’s celebrations.

Among other things, the NWMA plans to use the extra money to hire street stalls and buy more than 400 gifts for Santa to give out to local children.

Matthew Drennan, NWMA secretary, said: “We see these events as a way to thank the villagers for all their support over the years, helping us build and maintain our war memorial.

“It’s quite apt that we do this in memory of men who died at war – some of whom never got the chance to be with their children to celebrate Christmas.”

Councillor Paul O’Kane, who represents Neilston and Newton Mearns North, helped with the application for funding and is delighted it has been successful.

The Labour man said: “It will allow us to hold a community event to switch on the Christmas tree and lights and have a bit of a celebration.

“Last year was great because it was the first year we’d ever done it and it exceeded our expectations in a lot of ways.

“It really brought the community together, with hundreds of people coming along.

“The funding this year will let us do some other things, like having a stage set up and closing the road to give us more space, but really it’s all about the community coming together.

“Essentially, what the funding will allow us to do is improve the quality of the event, make it a bit bigger and better but still keep that community focus.”

A date for this year’s Christmas lights switch-on in Neilston has yet to be confirmed but details will be published in the Barrhead News in the near future.