Business owners furious as Ringwood becomes latest town to turn off the ... trends now
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Another UK town has turned off its Christmas lights due to rising energy costs, leaving business owners furious at the impact it will have on seasonal trade.
Traders in the town of Ringwood, an idyllic market town in Hampshire, have seen festive lights turn off on the high street, as the town council suffered from rising costs.
Councils across the UK have been cancelling Christmas lights and other events, blaming the surging cost of energy.
It comes after authorities in Cambridgeshire, Surrey, Bristol, Kent and Buckinghamshire announced they had cancelled their light switch-ons for this year.
The roads on either side of Christchurch Road have been lit up but Ringwood Town Council has 'left out' the high street because of rising costs.
Traders in the town of Ringwood, an idyllic market town in Hampshire, have seen festive lights turn off on the high street. Pictured: Business owner Shad Mannan in an area with lights (left) and in the area without lights (right)
The roads on either side of Christchurch Road have been lit up but the Ringwood Town Council has 'left out' the high street because of rising costs
The Christmas lights usually encourage shoppers to stay out later and businesses were hoping for they would help boost sales after a tough year.
Shad Mannan owns a popular Indian restaurant that stays open late at night.
He said: 'I started reaching out to the council a few years ago to find out why our street isn't included in the Christmas festivities and have been told it would be looked into, yet every year the lights go up and we still have nothing.
'As a
