Children at a Black Notley nursery have been in festive mood making a two foot high Christmas fairy for Braintree's Freeport designer village.

The fairy took pride of place in the Christmas decorations at Freeport where the lights were switched on by Postman Pat and his cat Jess on Wednesday November 16.

For the Mannadale nursery youngsters, aged three to five, Christmas appeared to have arrived early this year.

Glenda Worth, team leader, at Mannadale said: "Children aged three to five are incredibly creative so it's great for us to be able to show off their work to so many people. We've had some very excited children in the nursery over the last few days because it's really made them think about Christmas."

Freeport based Italian restaurant Tutti Grille invited the nursery to add a child's touch to this year's Christmas decorations and paid for the materials.

The generous restaurant is also donating money to the Hope for the Future charity supported by the nursery. The charity helps families in Romania with firewood to help them cook their Christmas meals.