WITH a little bit of help from local entertainers and an almost miraculous break in the storms which had dogged the day on Tuesday December 5, the Marlborough Victorian evening turned out to be Absolutely Fabulous.

The undoubted star of the show was Marlborough's Joanna Lumley look-alike Sue Bradbury, who switched on the Christmas lights.

In true 'Patsy' fashion she said it was time to light up and went to light her ever-present cigarette before Philip Marsh, one of the organising committee, reminded her it was the Christmas lights she was meant to be turning on.

Only minutes before the official switch-on at 6.30pm, the organising committee had stood disconsolate as non-stop downpours threatened to wash out the popular event, sponsored by the Marlborough Cup promoter Count Konrad Goess-Saurau.

However, as the seconds ticked away to the official launch, the rain stopped and large crowds appeared as if from nowhere.

Mr Marsh said: "If people turn out on a night like this they will turn out for anything."

Several thousand people joined in the fun and the shops which stayed open reported bumper trade.

Many of the town's businesses including the HSBC Bank entered into the spirit of the occasion with their staff dressing in period costume.

Queen Victoria, alias Swindon actress Mary Ratcliffe, graced the town with her presence, and she was driven around the High Street in a horse-drawn landau.

There was some criticism of the number of fairground amusements interspersed among the other entertainments in the centre of the High Street but one of the organisers, Kevin Ellis, said: "We asked for the helter skelter and big wheel because they were popular attractions in Victorian times, but the showman always bring along a few extra small rides."

A small collection of steam engines proved popular with the crowds.

One, a 1924 showman's engine owned by John Newton from Hungerford, lay derelict in a shed for 51 years before restoration. It was used in Marlborough for the annual Mop Fairs between 1932 and 1936.