CROWDS of over 13,000 people flocked to Corbridge on Monday night for the village's much-anticipated Christmas event.

Christmas in Corbridge saw a 20 per cent increase in visitors from last year as the event’s popularity continues to grow.

Organisers believe 13,500 people browsed the stalls, visited local shops, tasted the food and drink on offer and heard carol singing on Monday night.

David Crompton, chairman of the traders group Visit Corbridge, said: “It was phenomenal - Christmas definitely came to Corbridge.

“It couldn’t have gone better. It was one of those nights where everything came together. The weather was perfect it was a really crisp night and the carol singers and brass band sounded great. We even had a bus full of people who had travelled from South Shields.”

The late night shopping event coincided with Corbridge Christmas Tree Festival, which saw over 100 trees put on display inside St Andrew’s Church from Friday until Tuesday, decorated by various groups, businesses, organisations and charities.

Meanwhile on Friday night the community in Haltwhistle gathered for their late night shopping event, along with their own Christmas tree festival and Christmas lights switch-on.

Chairwoman of Haltwhistle Chamber of Trade, Catherine Davidson, said: “It went very well everybody was in the best of spirits and and it was nice to see so many people supporting local traders.”