THE countdown to Christmas started in Salisbury last night at the annual lights switch on.

Former Olympic medalist and world champion athlete Colin Jackson switched on the lights on stage with the Mayor of Salisbury, Cllr Mike Osment, and Father Christmas.

Before the event, Colin said "It's lovely to be back in Salisbury and to be here in the winter, and for this occasion is pretty special.

"It's always a great celebration and the time to get into the festive mood".

Colin added: "My friends and family will all tell you this is the best time of the year for me.

"I love it. I wish we had something like this mid-year as well, so we could celebrate during the summer as well, i just love the whole feeling and experience".

Colin's plans for Christmas will include a big family holiday abroad, before a busy 2019.

He said: "I'll be at the World Championships in September in Doha, which is something a lot of the British team will look forward to, also Glasgow in March for the Indoor Championships, and the best of the Brits will be there, so it's going to be a busy year.

On his hopes for the British competitors, he added: "I think we're looking good.

"If you look up how we did at the European Championships in Berlin last August, we were pretty strong, and I think a lot of the performances were to a very high level.

"The majority of the people competing were winning medals and will feature at the World Championships, which is great".

Colin also gave some advice for any young athletes in Salisbury or those looking to get into it: "The most important thing is to have fun in what you do. If you enjoy it, and have fun, you'll want to work harder at it.

For me, I always say to youngsters just try something you're going to have a good time doing and that will make it much easier, even when training is really hard.