Santa claws is star of the show

Giant model of Fenella the tiger dominates the parade - to the delight of the crowd (inset). Below: The original Fenella

Following Fenella were around 70 children dressed in Jack Frost and ice fairy costumes, which were made at Hope Bank Art School, led by Chloe Williams.

Behind the art school was local artist Barry Russell and volunteers carrying lanterns made with pupils from Holmfirth Junior, Infant School and Upperthong Junior and Infant School.

Following the lantern troupe were Holmfirth young farmers with their tractors and trailers.

Then came several vintage tractors, Holme Valley Mountain Rescue and engines from Holmfirth Fire Station.

The parade was followed by carols which were led by Hope Bank Youth Band with children’s entertainment from Hey Diddles.

The evening finished with the official lights switch-on where the crowds were encouraged to roar like Fenella to turn on the lights.

Holmfirth Christmas Team chair Rachel Hogley said it was important to involve all of the community to make the event a switch-on worth remembering

She said: “Switch-ons are inherently disappointing so that’s why we did a community event to make people feel part of it.

“We’ve had a huge amount of positive feedback from people delighted to see such a good community effort.

“It was bringing the community together to celebrate all that’s good about Holmfirth.

“Fenella is a great mascot of the town and it was great to bring her out again.

“You could hear the kids going: ‘Wow! There’s a tiger coming.’

“It was creating a real sense of excitement and getting people ready for Christmas.”