Christmas is saved in Machynlleth thanks to last-minute community efforts.

Town residents despaired last week after it was announced by the Machynlleth Rotary Club that there would be no Christmas lights adorning the high street this year, thanks to ballooning installation costs.

But one local company didn't take the news lying down, coming to the aid of the Club by offering to install the lights themselves.

Light 'Em Up lighting solution company from Aberystwyth came to the town's aid by installing the lights late on the last evening of November, just in time for the beginning of Advent celebrations.

Light 'Em Up celebrated with a social media post sharing photos of the festive lights, simply stating, 'not on our watch!'

Speaking to the Cambrian News, Light ‘Em Up Managing Director Joe Willcox said: “We stepped in because we didn’t want to see Machynlleth go dark at a time when the town deserves to feel bright and positive.

“When it became clear that the Christmas lights might not happen this year, we felt we could help — so we did.”

Machynlleth Mayor Jeremy Paige announced that he was able to support the Rotary Club with a last-minute donation from the Mayor’s Fund, which was matched by an anonymous donation.

Just five days earlier, the Rotary Club announced that they would be breaking the long-standing tradition of putting up the high street Christmas lights due to the installation costs quadrupling.

They blamed Powys County Council’s “unacceptably high cost of installation” for being unable to install the lights this year, which are owned, serviced and stored by the Club.

However, Powys County Council states that the Club never reached out to the Council for a quote this year, having quoted them £1,553.08 in 2024.

The Council added that the Club could appoint any suitably qualified contractor to install the lights as long as they met the criteria set by the North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agency.

Further confusion came on 30 November when the Rotary Club put up a notice on its Facebook page stating that the street lights had been installed “without the knowledge or permission of the officers of the Club” and they were therefore not “responsible for the actions of contractors or individuals involved”.

The post was taken down shortly afterwards.

Residents were delighted by the surprise U-turn, with one commenting: “Not all heroes wear capes, some wear high viz and steel-toe caps”.

It came just one day after the town’s Christmas tree lights switch-on event on Saturday 29 November, where an estimated 300 people turned up for the festive celebrations.

Santa and his sleigh were in attendance giving out gifts to children, whilst fake snow covered guests and elves could be seen marshalling the event.

DJ Dai Jones and a wind band played before festivities continued with a disco at the Rugby Club.

Businesses stayed open late, selling mulled drinks and minced pies, hosting stalls from local craftspeople and music played at different venues into the evening.