SIR — Returning to my home in Minehead late one evening last week, my friend drove me up The Avenue and I was completely surprised by its wonderful appearance.

It has always been an attractive feature of our town, lined as it is with rows of trees, but it was the first time I had seen it since it has been festooned with twinkling globe lights.

Our chamber of commerce and all others responsible for this initiative should be congratulated. Our local authority should also be commended for resisting the many calls for the trees to be felled.

In the daytime during the holiday season, The Avenue has a colourful, bustling and welcoming atmosphere with its restaurants, cafés, public houses and gift shops, terminating at its northern end with that gem in the crown of West Somerset, our own full-size steam railway.

At night-time it has now been transformed into a tunnel of light.

It is a missed opportunity if we do not proclaim Minehead’s latest attraction more loudly.

Peter Kirkham,

Martlet Road,

Minehead.