LAST Friday's Christmas lights switch-on event upset some Malvern town centre traders.

Fairground rides blocking roads made life difficult for several businesses and proprietors felt they had been left out of the celebrations.

Mike Gatiss and Lesley Sewell, of Greenlink Organic Foods, were unhappy there were no fairground rides near their business, when the town council promised attractions in Graham Road.

"For the umpteenth year in a row there was nothing to draw people to outside our shop," said Ms Sewell.

Mr Gattis said the shop closed at 6.30pm after taking £10. He estimates they lost £450 because very little of the extra food made for the event was sold.

Lee Harrison, managing director of Select World Travel, described the fairground rides as "horrible monstrosities which completely blocked us off."

"I'm not against them if they're in the right place," he said.

"If you looked generally certainly the town looked busier than ever before but people weren't actually in the shops."

Another disgruntled trader was Paul Elkin, of the Crusty Cob sandwich shop, Graham Road.

He does not usually open his business for the switch-on event but opened this year after being asked by the town council.

His shop frontage was completely blocked by a fairground ride on Friday and people were buying snacks from hot dog stalls in Church Street.

Only three customers visited the Crusty Cob that night and Mr Elkin estimates he lost more than £100 of business.

"Nobody could even see that we were open," he said.

Town council chairman Ralph Madden said the council's operations team was talking to local businesses to see if it could come up with something better for next year.

He stressed the event was focused on children, to distinguish it from Worcester's Victorian Fair.