LARGE crowds gathered outside The Royal Anchor pub for the annual carol service on the run up to Christmas, after earlier downpours cleared away and a full moon lit up the sky.

Excited children, parents, grandparents, residents and their friends joined in to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the singalong, which this year took place around a specially donated Christmas tree donated by Liphook In Bloom.

The switch was made after the village’s historic chestnut tree had to be felled just before the annual carnival in October, after tree surgeons discovered it had become rotten through disease.

To everyone’s delight, professional soprano Heather Keech, who had just flown in from Adelaide, Australia, to visit her family in Liphook, led the crowd with an outstanding vocal performance and made light of the jet lag after more than a day’s travelling.

Haslemere Town Band and Father Christmas got all 300 revellers singing along to their favourite Christmas carols, including The First Noel, While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks, Away in a Manger, Ding Dong! Merrily On High, Little Donkey, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Jingle Bells, Silent Night, I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas and We Wish you a Merry Christmas.

Carollers enjoyed 300 mince pies, donated by Sainsbury’s Store, delicious hot soup from Dave McCoy as well as roasted chestnuts from Gary Renouf of GPR Wood Turning and Lian Zhang of the Acupuncture Centre.

The collection was made in aid of Liphook Laundry, Haslemere Town Band and Liphook Day Centre, who over the last 32 years have looked after more than 82,500 elderly residents of the parish.

Long-time sponsors Hiscox, Gables Newsagents, The Links Tavern, Liphook Fire Service and Bramshott and Liphook Parish Council were all represented, while local DJ Malcolm Bray got everyone into a Christmas party mood.