Organisers of a Christmas street fair are hoping for a record-breaking attendance to mark the event’s silver jubilee.

Last year, more than 10,000 people visited the Otley Victorian Fair, and this year the event has been moved to a Sunday afternoon in a bid to attract even more people to the town.

Organisers said they had managed to secure more than 1,000 free car parking places for the fair on Sunday, December 12, which will see Otley town centre closed to traffic.

Many of the stallholders will be in Victorian dress to add a Dickensian feel to stalls selling festive gifts, home-made produce, roast chestnuts, hog roasts, mulled wine, mince pies and other goods, alongside entertainment and fairground rides.

A window-dressing competition will be held throughout the town on the theme of The Twelve Days of Christmas, and there will also be a treasure hunt anagram competition with clues gathered from shop displays.

One of the organisers, Sarah Quin, said some visitors got into the Christmas spirit by dressing up.

She hoped moving the event to a Sunday would help attracting record numbers.

“Otley Victorian Fair keeps going from strength to strength and we’re looking forward to welcoming thousands of visitors to our special 25th anniversary,” she said.

“We’d love it if people get into the spirit of things and wear Victorian costumes. You’d be surprised how quickly you can run up a street urchin costume for the children.

“Hopefully, we’ll beat last year’s record attendance, a staggering 10,000 people, because more people can come along on a Sunday.

“There will be cards, music and food, and of course it’s a great place to buy your Christmas presents from a huge array of stalls.”

The fair will take place from 2pm to 8pm.

Otley staged its first Victorian fair in 1985, as the brainchild of the town’s chamber of commerce in an attempt to give the shops a boost in the run up to Christmas.

For more details, go to victorianfayre.co.uk