A HUTTON RUDBY councillor felt less than festive when he mistakenly chopped an electricity cable to the village's new Christmas tree lights.

Public-spirited Coun John Richardson was only trying to help. He and Coun Stan Lennox, both in their 70s, had scaled a ladder to place the lights round the tree when the frustrating accident happened. The parish council had paid for the lights and Coun Richardson, the chairman, volunteered to put them up.

Recalling the episode with a smile on his face, he said: "I bought £45 worth of new lights to add to the tree. That was the good news. But the bad news was that I couldn't get them to work. The old bulbs were lit but the new ones were not.

"Unfortunately I had cut the cable. It was tiny and I found it hard to tell which end was which. I'm not a qualified electrician, you see. Anyway - whatever it was, we needed a circuit tester to check it."

Fish shop owner Mr Brian Dennis tried to solve the problem with his son, James.

Coun Lennox recalled: "Before John got up there and cut them, the lights were working fine!"

Mr Richardson added: "Seriously - every year, we have problems with the lights. We have traditionally relied on people's good will, rather than getting a proper electrician who is capable of doing it properly. It is an absolute nightmare!

"I haven't even got enough space in my garage for all the Christmas stuff so my friend keeps a box of lights on his fridge.

"Its a crazy situation - two 70-year olds climbing up a great high ladder to put lights around the tree. If we'd done it another way, this situation would probably not have arisen.

"Having said all that, they're pretty lights and they will be all singing and dancing very soon."

Thankfully, the lights were twinkling brightly this week.