LION Walk bosses have said there were no safety incidents during the Christmas lights switch-on after some visitors raised complaints about overcrowding.

More than 40,000 people gathered in Colchester city centre on Wednesday evening for a parade through the High Street, with crowds then heading to Lion Walk afterwards for a concert and fireworks display.

But some attendees felt the staging of the performance, combined with an already increased footfall, made the environment cramped and uncomfortable.

One visitor, Hollie Ibberson, described the scene as “very unsafe", with Tom Cox adding he was “surprised [organisers] didn’t stick a stage outside Firstsite where there’s more open space – it was very cramped outside Boots, especially for people with pushchairs.”

Lion Walk boss Martin Leatherdale countered the complaints by saying the busy atmosphere was “great news for the event and city centre retailers”.

He said: “We had extra big screens installed for the show, and we had support from many organisations stretching from military trained personnel to medics.

“We are pleased to say the event itself there were zero recorded safety incidents.

“We do appreciate it was very busy and we will always keep this under review and learn for future events.”