ROYSTON’S Christmas Carnival was held on Sunday and was hailed as a great success by those involved.

Around 300 children queued with their parents to have their picture taken with Father Christmas, whose grotto was located in ART16 on the High Street, while gifts and crafts were sold in the Old Bull Inn.

David Hatton, a member of Royston Photographic Society and one of the artists currently exhibiting at ART16, was delighted with how the day panned out.

“It was a roaring success on Sunday. Queues outside our shop to see Father Christmas went right up the High Street from 9.30am until 3pm,” he said.

“All the children seemed to go away happy with the quality of the shots they got, and all got five minutes with him. We had great feedback from parent too.”

Mr Hatton was full of praise for Father Christmas, who despite his busy schedule this time of year, was able to spend good time with all the children.

“Father Christmas was amazing. We didn’t have a break all day, and talked to all of the children,” he said.

“Each child got around five minutes with him, which is plenty of time to let him know what they would like!”

The farmers market was held on the main Market Square, while gifts and crafts were available in the Old Bull Inn.

The car park outside Angel Pavement was the location for a mini funfair, where charity stalls were also situated.

Royston town mayor Cllr Martin Beaver said: “It was a fantastic day. The weather was great everybody enjoyed themselves. It was a really good response from the town.

“There was a bit of a queue for Father Christmas but everyone I spoke to really enjoyed it.

“It’s thanks to all of the organisations and shops who put on such a good show. I enjoyed myself and I know all the others did.”