The crowds flocked to Colchester Town Hall over the weekend to buy festive presents and gifts at the Christmas Market.

It was the first time a Christmas Market had been held in two years, and 46 stallholders were booked in selling a range of wares – from Christmas decorations to jewellery, skincare, and hand-painted wooden crafts.

Saturday was comfortably the busier day for sellers, with around 2,430 people attending to bag themselves some early Christmas presents for friends and relatives.

Sunday saw a slightly lower turnout of around 1,700 visitors.

The stalls were spread across the historic civic office, with Moot Hall, the Mayoral Suite, and the Old Library all accommodating designers and craftspeople from around Colchester.

It was the first time the fair had been held in the town hall.

Melissa Faux, town hall events manager, was delighted with the weekend, which saw a total of over 4,000 people attend the market.

She said: “Our first Town Hall Christmas Market was fantastic.

“And it was wonderful to see the town hall so busy.

“We were thrilled so see so many people support this event, popping in throughout the weekend to browse and shop from the fabulous range of stalls.”

Miss Faux added that the fair was successful enough for sellers to book themselves a stall for next year’s market.

“We had great feedback from our local stallholders and many have signed up again to come back next year,” she said.

“We’re already thinking about how we can make the event even bigger and better in 2022.”

Entry was free of charge for customers, for whom doors opened at 10am and closed at 5pm over both days.