NELSON community leaders want town centre developers to bring a little Christmas cheer after a year of disruption.

Councillors on Nelson's Area Committee heard the town's Christmas decorations were out-of-date and electrically unsafe and the council could not afford to pay for a dazzling festive lights display.

The area committee says it is unfair to ask traders to pay for decorations when building work at Pendle Rise Shopping Centre has kept customers away.

And councillors are going to ask developers Modus and Barnfield Construction and new store Wilkinson if they will help put a little sparkle back into the town.

Coun Mahboob Ahmed said: "Christmas is an important festival for the people of Nelson.

"I think for far too long there have not been enough decorations in the town centre. Now there is the opportunity to change that and do something for the people who have suffered during the building work.

"It may be worth approaching Wilkinson to see if they would like to put forward some sort of financial contribution as a gesture of goodwill."

Coun Dorothy Ormrod said: "We must ask Modus for some help to make Nelson feel like Christmas.

"The traders have supported us for years with the decorations. I don't think we can expect them to contribute as much this year."

Shops in Nelson were predicting a bleak Christmas when it was revealed in August that work to extend Pendle Rise would not be completed until the end of October so new shops would not open until the new year.

Nelson committee has a budget of £16,000 for Christmas decorations and much of that will be spent on replacing equipment. In previous years, shops were invited to share the costs of putting a tree outside their premises, but the lights were often switched off when the shops closed for the night.

A report to the committee said the decorations in Nelson 'may not be very extensive but should provide a tasteful display' and hopes the display will improve in future years.