DEDICATED members of Portishead's Christmas lights committee have been rewarded for their hard work making the town sparkle each festive season. The committee has been presented with the John Daws Pegasus Cup which is awarded to the person or organisation

DEDICATED members of Portishead's Christmas lights committee have been rewarded for their hard work making the town sparkle each festive season.The committee has been presented with the John Daws Pegasus Cup which is awarded to the person or organisation which is judged to have helped raise the profile of the town.For the past 23 years the lights committee has ensured that Portishead is ablaze with lights for six weeks around Christmas.From small beginnings, the display has substantially grown so that there are now 4,500 lights, 90 illuminated Christmas trees on the shop fronts and lights in the centre of the town.The North Somerset Times Tree of Light is also put on the roof of the Somerset Hall and gives people the opportunity to sponsor a light in memory of a loved one.Work on putting up lights starts in earnest next month when a band of volunteers give hours of their time to put up the four and a half kilometres of cabling.The cup was launched by the Portishead in Bloom committee in memory of former councillor John Daws and is sponsored by Pegasus Homes.Portishead in Bloom chairman Gordon Randall said he felt the committee was a worthy winner of the award.Mr Randall said: "They bring a lot of joy and prestige to the town and are a highlight of the festive season."But it's not just at Christmas as during the summer they help us tremendously by putting up banners and flags, creating a lovely continental atmosphere in the High Street."The committee was presented with the cup and a cheque for £100 at a special ceremony at the Portishead in Bloom annual general meeting.* Portishead resident Dawn Mullen was also recognised for her hard work in the town and presented with a special Pegasus award of £50. For the past 25 years Dawn has run a monthly club for disabled people. In addition she phones and visits members who are ill and does their shopping. She also fosters people with special needs, walks dogs for people who are unable to do so and runs a smallholding for elderly, sick and unwanted animals.