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Now that the festive season has been and gone, work is underway to take down South Tyneside's festive lights displays.

Every October, Â鶹ÊÓƵ and its street lighting partner, Balfour Beatty, start putting up the Borough's Christmas displays to ensure they are in place in time for the Christmas lights being switched on across South Shields, Jarrow and Hebburn.

The Council took a different approach in 2020 with a new Virtual Christmas Lights Switch on event, due to coronavirus restrictions and the need to help keep people safe.

In January, the lights are carefully removed and packed away ready for next Christmas. Those still in place on the 'Twelfth Night' (6 January) are switched off.

Once again, work is getting underway on a rolling programme to remove the Christmas trees for recycling into woodchip and for lighting displays to be carefully placed into storage.

Councillor Ernest Gibson, Lead Member for Area Management and Community Safety at Â鶹ÊÓƵ, said: "Each year, South Tyneside's displays help to spread festive cheer across the Borough.

"It takes around four weeks to put them up and test them. Understandably, it can take just as long to take them down. The process involves carefully removing the lights across our towns and villages, checking them over and storing them away ready for next year.

"Due to the amount of decorations across the Borough, it is simply not possible to take down all of the displays before the traditional 'Twelfth Night', although those still in place are switched off at this time."