Crowds in their thousands enjoyed a three-day helping of the Christmas spirit at the weekend when the village of Saundersfoot switched on the festive fun.

The community's annual St. Nicholas Market attracted more than 11,000 people to sample a seasonal feast of food, gifts, crafts, cookery and craft demonstrations and other attractions.

The event's giant seafront marquee was packed to bursting with stalls offering treats ranging from hot chestnuts to locally-brewed beer, while children were able to get a taste of Christmas magic by visiting Santa in his grotto and admiring Snowdrop and Lilly, a gentle pair of live baby reindeer.

In the market kitchen, celebrity chefs Angela Gray served up some delicious festive food, while Anthony Evans showed seven different ways to tackle the Christmas turkey, as well as what to do with those leftovers. There were also some creative Christmas ideas for the home from Emma Dewhurst, of Blooms and Beverages, Saundersfoot.

Amongst the market visitors were four coach parties who had been making their way to other events in West Wales - including the winter fair at Aberglasney, Carmarthenshire - and took a welcome diversion to Saundersfoot when the icy weather forced their cancellation.

A number of the stallholders reported brisk business, with a couple of them finding themselves running low on stocks because of demand.

"We completely sold out of our Christmas ale," said Sue Dooley, of the Tenby-based Preseli Brewery. "We're just kicking ourselves that we didn't brew more for the weekend!"

The market was organised by Saundersfoot Chamber for Tourism, whose chairman, Phil Odley, said: "It's been a great weekend with a warm and friendly atmosphere.

"We've had some excellent feedback from our stallholders and visitors, and the event has been a great boost to the village on a weekend that would normally be pretty quiet."

A popular addition to the market marquee this year was a covered outdoor seating area, where visitors were able to shelter from the elements while watching youngsters having fun on the bungee-jump attraction.

There were also festive sounds from Greenhill School brass musicians on Saturday, while on Sunday, members of Saundersfoot's Hebron Baptist Church were joined by children from Castle School, Cresselly, to sing and play carols.

A hamper raffle was held on each of the three days, with holidaymakers Mr. and Mrs. Fleming being delighted to win both Friday's and Saturday's prizes, while Mr. Thrower was the winner on Sunday.

Together with Saundersfoot Community Council, the Chamber financed a new lighting feature for the village centre this year - dozens of giant 'icicles' which illuminate to give a snowfall effect.

These were switched on for the first time on Friday evening, shortly after the arrival of Father Christmas, who managed to stay cheerful on his sleigh despite a downpour of rain.

"The village's lights look absolutely magnificent this year," added Mr. Odley. "The whole scheme has been a substantial outlay for the Chamber and the council, but is worth every penny for the effect it creates."