The winner has been announced for Royston's Christmas Elf Trail, which saw children hunt for Santa's missing elves across the town centre.

Twelve elves were hidden in shop windows - including one elf found riding a sheep at No.3 wool shop, and another lurking in a coffee cup at Kooky Nohmad.

To enter, participants had to submit a completed entry form, noting the location of each elf and what activity they were doing, for the chance to win a hamper of Christmas treats from Ladds, worth £100.

Out of the 163 entries, three-year-old Archie Evans was selected at random as the competition winner.

Archie's mum, Becci Chandler, said: "Archie is so happy to have won the hamper. It will be enjoyed by him and his big brother, Eddie!

"We have done the trails before, and the boys always enjoy doing them, so it was an added bonus to find out we had won such a nice prize.

"It was nice to see the town busy and we spotted other children doing the trail. We had a lovely Sunday morning walking around looking out for the elves, popping into the shops, and visiting the church to see the big Christmas tree."

The event was organised by Royston First, who also organised other festive events in the town, including a fun fair and opportunities to meet Santa in his grotto.

Chair of Royston First, David Smyth, said: "We are so pleased that so many children enjoyed our popular children’s Christmas trail. It was lovely to see so many families out and about following the trail around, and visiting the shops, too.

"This is one of the reasons why we organise the trails – to bring footfall into the town, so that businesses can benefit from custom, too.

"On behalf of everyone at Royston First, I would like to thank all the businesses who took part in the trail and all of the children who entered."

For more information on Royston First, or to find out about the next town trail and other events, you can follow them on Facebook @RoystonFirst, or visit www.roystonfirst.com.