Uppermill's businesses will not have a formal Christmas lights display arranged for them this year, after Saddleworth Round Table said the work had become "entirely untenable" for its volunteers. The group, which has co-ordinated lighting on shop frontages for five years, set out its reasons in a statement reported by the Saddleworth Independent.

It said some installations were cut down or unplugged, and that appeals for traders to run a sustainable scheme went unanswered. Volunteers will instead light St George's Gardens, and a Festive Window Challenge will see £500 given to a registered charity of the winner's choice.