REVELLERS looking for some festive cheer are going to have to look elsewhere this year after a lack of funding has meant there will be no Christmas lights on Brentford High Street.

The Brentford High Street Steering Group normally raises funds to put up lights over the holiday season but this year, due to the markets earlier in the year, the Olympic torch relay and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations they do not have enough cash to pay for the lights which cost £150 per column to put up and take down.

Last year, the 'Brentford is Brilliant' Christmas lights were partly funded by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson's, Greater London Fund which lifted the mood of the town but this year Brentford did not receive that funding so only a few lights will be put up.

Julia Quilliam, director of the steering group, said: "After all the celebrations this year we just couldn't raise enough to fund the lights, especially as the council charges so much to put them up and remove them.

"One of our four trustees, Tim Luckett, has been very ill so we could not do as much fund-raising as we needed to.

"There also seems to be a bit of a negative mood in the town, with the recent murder, the toy library closing and shops not doing very well, so the 'Brentford is Brilliant' signs could be a bit inappropriate."

Julia, who is also the owner of Quilliam estate agents in the town, emphasised how 2013 was going to be a better year for Brentford, with plans for a weekly farmers market underway as well as more fundraising events to bring the community together.

Christmas won't be completely absent from Brentford though, with Watermans having a switching on ceremony for its own lights on November 23.

The Chronicle visited Brentford High Street to see what people thought about the decision.

Ian Dawes, 41, of Brentford, said: "Bah humbug! Christmas is not just about the kids, you need to celebrate something. You get the Christmas feeling with lights."

Justin Garrard, 48, of Brentford, said: "I think it's ok to not have lights if they've spent all their money. It's a time of tightening belts. They should have just left them up from last year!"

Dochka Hrstova (CORR), 29, who works in Maison Cafe, Brentford, said: "I think there should be Christmas decorations. Brentford is grey enough. I think more people would shop here if there were lights, because of the Christmas spirit."

Kerri Rothwell-Doublas, 16, of Brentford, said: "It's un-Christmassy and Scroogey. It won't really feel like Christmas."

Ron Wright, 70, of Brentford, said: "Christmas lights make people want to shop but if you look at Brentford High Street, what shops are there anyway?"