The Mayor and Mayoress of Oakham are getting the festive season off to the perfect start with a free community Christmas celebration service, bringing together families, friends and all ages.

The event, at All Saints Church at the end of this month, will include singing, music and fun, plus special guest appearances from Rutland Choral Society, Catmose Primary Choir, Lia Hornby and Rachel Bermingham.

Mayor Councillor David Romney and Mayoress Mrs Di Smith will be hosting, and raising money for their chosen charity Sunflowers, supporting families with a child/children with additional needs.

The mayoress explained: "David was Mayor of Seaford and they always used ot have a community church service that was free for everyone. We didn't seem to have anything similar so, when we were discussing what he would most like to do in his year as Mayor, that was one of the things that he was most keen on.

"We met with the vicar of All Saints, we talked about the ideas we had and he was really supportive so then we just went ahead and started organising everything."

She says since they began planning, the response in Oakham has been overwhelmingly positive.

"Everyone I've approached to get involved has been so gracious and said 'yes, please count us in' which has been lovely.

"It's a community event, and I think people like the idea of something which brings them together - we want everyone - grandparents, children, aunts, uncles, the neighbour's cat! - because there is going to be something for everybody, it won't be like a traditional church service, and there'll be a few surprises in there too."

The service will take place on Saturday November 30 from 6pm to around 7pm, at All Saints Church on Church Street, it's free and everyone is welcome. All donations will go to Sunflowers additional needs playgroup, where the mayoress helps out as a volunteer once a week.

"What they do there is fabulous and so important for families, so we really want to support them and raise awareness of them through our year. They are still looking for more volunteers, on a Thursday morning, I'm sure they'd be pleased to hear from anyone with a couple of hours free."