A £30,000 Christmas laser spectacular, attracting thousands of visitors, is set to round off the biggest festive event ever held in Barnard Castle.

It is hoped the event will be a massive boost to the market town, which has seen trade badly hit by the foot-and-mouth epidemic.

Organisers of the Christmas Festival, which has cost a total of £40,000, have worked tirelessly this year to raise the money needed to pay for the event but just months ago it was feared the planned spectacular would have to be cancelled because of a lack of funding.

A sneak preview of the laser show was held last night and organisers are confident visitors will be hugely impressed when the event is held for real Saturday night.

The light show will include a dazzling display of lasers beamed onto the walls of the town's historic medieval castle walls.

Other events taking place during the festival Saturday include a town-wide lantern procession by local children, which will start at the Bowes Museum and continue through the Market Place.

The decision to try to stage the ambitious festival was taken earlier this year following criticism of last year's Christmas lights, described by residents and traders as a failure for the town.

But this year the town council teamed up with Teesdale Marketing, which represents local businesses in the area, to put on a Christmas show to boost morale and the image of the town.

Teesdale Marketing chairman Bill Oldfield, who owns Oldfield's restaurant in the town, said Barnard Castle will have seen nothing like it before.

He said: "This is exactly what the town and Teesdale need after such a difficult time for the farming and business communities.

"A lot of hard work has gone into securing the funding but the effort has paid off and hopefully it will prove to be a massive boost for morale.

"The laser show will be the first of its kind in the town and judging by the success of tonight, the public are in a for a really spectacular evening during the main show on Saturday."