ONE of the centre pieces of St Ives Christmas lights event was abandoned on Sunday as strong winds blew across Cambridgeshire. The Dickensian Market, a themed event with costumes for stallholders, was cancelled in a last-minute decision on Sunday morning

ONE of the centre pieces of St Ives' Christmas lights event was abandoned on Sunday as strong winds blew across Cambridgeshire.

The Dickensian Market, a themed event with costumes for stallholders, was cancelled in a last-minute decision on Sunday morning.

Angie Dickinson, chairman of St Ives Town Initiative, said when volunteers arrived to help erect the stalls at 6am it soon became obvious that it was going to be a very difficult job in the winds and torrential rain.

And when parts of the first stall, which was being erected in Bridge Street, were blown away, the market was cancelled.

However, the lights still went on in St Ives, and in Ramsey on Saturday and in Somersham and St Neots on Friday.