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Haverhill's unique public art project to provide gates to pedestrianise Queen Street was completed this afternoon when they were finally lit up.

The gates themselves were officially launched in July by town MP Matthew Hancock, but an integral part of them was not in place at the time - the LED lighting.

The coloured lighting is aimed to reflect in various different ways off the textured surfaces of the stainless steel, lime leaf design gates.

Only the larger gates at the western end of the street near Cangle junction are lit.

The lighting was officially switched on this afternoon by Santa Claus, accompanied by students from the town schools which designed and created them.

The project was led by Samuel Ward Academy's head of art, Neil Williams, but pupils from a wide variety of town schools, as well as members of the community, helped texture them.

Cllr Karen Richardson, who chairs Public Art For Haverhill Town Centre (PATCH), which managed the project, welcomed everyone to the lighting-up ceremony, including primary school children who had polished the gates.

"They are polishing them again now," she said, "and they will continue to do soperiodically because they have a real sense of ownership about them."

Samuel Ward sixth-former Will Howe spoke about their part in the project.

"It's great to be involved in this and I take pride in being part of it," he said. "It looks great and I hope you all enjoy it."

Santa presented certifcates to people who had taken a leading part in the project and then switched on the lights, which Cllr Richardson said would not be put away with the Christmas lights but would be lit all year.