Newcastle’s Christmas lights

FESTIVE EVENT WILL BE USED TO PROMOTE CHARITY’S EFFORTS FOR CHILDREN

Reporter IT’S not just the city streets which will be lit up this Christmas. A new partnership between Newcastle City Council and the NSPCC will help to promote the charity’s festive message.

Some 20,000 festive lights will be illuminated on November 14, hosted by the Lord Mayor of Newcastle and Metro Radio’s Breakfast Show presenters Steve and Karen, with free fun and entertainment at Grey’s Monument.

An additional ‘special guest’ will join the festivities, which will include a four-metre-tall teddy bear and decorations on Northumberland Street, the Quayside and elsewhere, but the event also has a serious message.

Councillor Nora Casey, cabinet member for children and young people, said: “Christmas should be a loving and caring time of year, but for so many young people it couldn’t be further from the truth, as Christmas can be one of the most lonely and unsettling times to endure.

“We are proud to welcome the NSPCC and support them in spreading their compassionate message to let children know that help is at hand whenever necessary. The same can be said of our own services for young people throughout the city.”

Jackie Dawson, the NSPCC’s community fundraising manager, said: “I am thrilled that the NSPCC has been adopted by Newcastle City Council, Sky and the Chronicle and Journal this year to light up Christmas for children.

“We will be urging people in Newcastle to light up their homes, their businesses and their streets this Christmas to fight for every childhood.

“Christmas should be full of joy for children up and down the UK but for too many, that is sadly not the case.

“Thousands of children will turn to