CRITICISM has been levelled at Worcester's Christmas lights display, with people calling it "rubbish" and "not very festive".

Hundreds of people gathered in the city centre on Saturday to see three-year-old Georgie Gibbs hit the switch with Mayor Roger Knight.

Although the choice of Georgie, who has spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, garnered nothing but support, many have expressed disappointment at the Christmas lights themselves and at how a number of them appeared not to turn on at the ceremony.

Worcester City Council has confirmed that this year's lights have been changed from the previous years, due to "safety reasons".

A city council spokesman said: "We have hired beautiful new lights for this year's Christmas decorations in Worcester, bringing an exciting new look and atmosphere to the city's festive celebrations.

"When the old lights were checked earlier this year they were found to be unsafe and beyond economic repair, so we had to find an alternative. Those lights had served the city well, but we're confident this year's new illuminations will encourage people to pop into Worcester this Christmas."

Because the lights are on loan, they could change again next year.

Some people said they were unsure whether all of the lights were switched on, but the council confirmed they were due to do a sweep of all Christmas lights in Worcester last night (Monday) to check for any problems.

Writing on your Worcester News' Facebook page, Lisa Gaming, said: "The lights this year along the High Street and the Shambles are rubbish. CrownGate is amazing as always. What happened to last year's lights? They were amazing."

Stephanie McDonough wrote: "Only about four lights got turned on near the event itself, it was shocking — the lights are underwhelming."

Karen Walkey added: "Not very good this year, the atmosphere was no where near as good as usual."

People are also complaining about the lights on the Christmas tree on the roundabout in St John's, saying it looks "unfinished".

Jeff Jones contacted your Worcester News on Twitter, asking: "On the St John's Island — is this a work in progress or the finished product?" while Clive Powell said: "Who is responsible for the state of the Christmas tree lights in St John's? They look terrible. Half not working and the other half look like they have been thrown on from a distance."