GET ready to shine a light in memory of loved ones again this Christmas with Evesham Rotary Club's Tree of Light.

Town mayor Diana Raphael will be switching on this year's lights on the 95ft Giant Redwood tree at Workman Bridge in a ceremony on Thursday, December 5, which will also feature carol singing led by the Celebration Reed and Brass Band.

The tree, which can be seen from as far away as Hinton-on-the-Green and Wickhamford, has become a familiar sight during the Christmas period since it began in 1999.

Last year it was adorned with 750 lights, remembering loved ones from all around the Vale and beyond, raising a record-breaking £9,000 for charities.

This year's campaign is particularly poignant for John Luckhurst, Evesham Rotary Club's junior vice president, who is this year's organiser and will be one of those remembering a loved one this year.

Mr Luckhurst will be remembering his son, Gavin, who died 10 years ago. Gavin was serving with the Metropolitan Police and returning home from duty in London on New Year's Eve in 1992, when his car went out of control on a patch of ice and crashed. He was just 26.

He said: "Although I am fairly new to the Vale, I can appreciate the importance of the Tree of Light and I'm really proud to be organising this year's event.

"Last year we raised £9,200 and I'm hoping this year we can raise at least £10,000. We've already had the corporate sponsors coming in and I'm sure people will be sending their forms and money in very soon."

This year's campaign is slightly different. Forms will be printed in the Journal as usual, but additional copies will be distributed outside Evesham's Tesco and Safeway stores, as well as doctors, dentists and veterinary surgeries in the town.

People will be able to drop forms in at one of three collection centres:

James Osborne, Optometrist, 1 Swan Lane, Evesham

OHL Stationers, High Street, Evesham

Tony Goodman, Post Office and Stores, Cheltenham Road, Evesham, or post them to Evesham Rotary Club direct.

There are also more charities benefiting this year. The charities being supported this year are the County Air Ambulance; St Richard's Hospice; The Noah's Ark Trust; Parents of Addicts Support Team (PAST); Evesham Citizen's Advice Bureau, and the Avonvale Playgroup for disabled children, as well as the mayor's charities, Avonbank Junior Brass Band and the Vale Volunteer Centre.