A LASER show is being planned to illuminate the skies over Barnard Castle this Christmas.

Organisers are hoping to attract hundreds of visitors to the town for the Christmas Festival.

Members of the town council's Christmas lights committee are well on the way to securing the £40,000 needed to fund the show, with help coming from local businesses, Teesdale Marketing and grants.

The laser display will be beamed from the castle walls on December 15, and there will be a lantern procession from the Bowes Museum through the town on the same evening.

Organiser Jill Cole said attracting the funding had been the biggest worry for the committee. She said: "We are still not quite home and dry yet, but we are confident we can reach the target. Hopefully, it will be big boost for local businesses and draw in hundreds of people from the local area. It should prove to be a fantastic laser show and community lantern procession by local children - it is just what Barnard Castle needs after such a difficult year."

The lantern procession will begin at 4pm and move along Newgate, then the Horsemarket, before reaching Lower Galgate and Scar Top, near the castle.

The laser show will follow the lantern parade in the evening. Organisers will announce a start time for the show in the next few weeks.