Village switches on to Christmas

The villagers sang carols around the tree when the lights came on

People from a small farming community in Ceredigion have been singing carols around their own lit Christmas tree - for the first time ever.

Seven months ago, 11 isolated homes at Cwm Brefi, seven miles from Tregaron, were finally switched on to mains power after a four-year campaign.

Now, free from a reliance on old-fashioned generators, the community has splashed out on a feast of lights to celebrate their introduction to a modern day Noel.

Before the switch-on in May, villagers had to choose between watching television or using the washing machine as their limited power supply struggled to cope with demand.

They also had to use a torch or candles to stumble to the bathroom at night.

But now they even have Christmas lights, which have been described as "a real treat" by villager Julie Hutchings.

"Christmas will be different - we are going to have the telly on during the day, and the dishwater will be in action," she said.

Mother of two toddlers, Samantha Jones, said the changeover to mains power has been a revelation.

This is the first time that Christmas lights have been on in the village

"My two children are both under four years old and before May I had to get up and go downstairs in the dark when they woke up in the night.

"Now I can put the light on and go and watch television while I try and get them back to sleep."

Mrs Jones said her family had bought 'loads' of festive lights to give her children a taste of their first modern-day Christmas.

The campaign for electricity started in 1999 after Mrs Jones' mother, Julie Hutchings, and another villager, Eleri Davies, complained about the millions spent on the ill-fated Millennium Dome in London.

Llanddewi Brefi Community Council then took up the case and a series of meetings with Ceredigion Council and the Welsh Development Agency ended up with a feasibility study.

The scheme finally cost £280,000 with Ceredigion Council putting up £100,000, the Cwm Brefi home owners each contributing £5,000, and the rest of the cash coming from European grants.