A SCHEME to boldly go where no Christmas lights have gone before has captured the imagination of councillors in Nelson.

A trial run of a £3,800 'Space Flower' searchlight beam proved so successful that councillors have agreed to invest in one to help put Nelson 'on the map' as a Christmas shopping centre.

While other towns rely on strings of traditional light blubs to brighten the way for festive shoppers, Nelson will be thinking big with a mega-watt bulb so bright operators will have to warn air traffic controllers at Manchester Airport when they are using it.

Pendle Council officer John Kirk, said the beam can light up clouds and rainfall or the fronts of a row of shops as well as being altered to create a range of patterns that can be seen for miles.

"It would make sure that people in at least half of Pendle and probably parts of Burnley would know where Nelson was," he said.

Councillors were told that the 'Space Flower' could also be used to market other events, such as the forthcoming Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival in Colne at the end of this month, or be rented out to other operators as a means of making it pay its own way.

The cost of the 'Space Flower' is to be met from the council's Nelson area committee's £8,000 Christmas decoration budget

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