A CITY'S festive lights will be spectacularly colourful this year - but the theme will be distinctly green.

For York is to be the first in the country to have its Christmas illuminations powered entirely by renewable energy.

The environmentally-friendly move has been sponsored by npower as part of the year-long local energy efficiency campaign Planet York.

It aims to spread the message far beyond the city boundaries, as an estimated 400,000 people are expected to visit in the run-up to Christmas.

Electricity provider npower is paying £30,000 towards the cost of the lights. The city council and local traders are also contributing to the display.

The lights will be powered by electricity from Juice, a joint venture between npower and Greenpeace, which harnesses wind at sea to supply up to 50,000 electricity customers in the UK.

The switching on ceremony is on November 15.