Christmas late night shopping to light up Eastbourne's Little Chelsea

The independent shops in Grove Road and South Street will be opening their doors until 8pm on Saturday evening (December 1) – and eateries, bars and pubs will open until later to celebrate the festive season.

The night will also mark the launch of the area’s ‘Elf on a Shelf’ competition, which encourages youngsters to look for an elf in each of the shops taking part, with the promise of prizes for those who spot them all.

This comes after it was announced there will be no Little Christmas in Little Chelsea this year.

This is why there will be no Little Christmas in Eastbourne this year

The annual tradition, which sees the streets lit up with stalls and festive entertainment, had to be cancelled due to the roadworks in the town centre.

On top of this, the town’s Chamber of Commerce announced Neon Noel will also not be going ahead due to lack of funding.

Eastbourne’s Neon Noel cancelled this year

But this has not dimmed Eastbourne’s Christmas spirit – there will be a Christmas market in Terminus Road, opening on Saturday (December 1).

Eastbourne gets ready for Christmas with festive events across the town