A PARTY of 24 'special shoppers' were accompanied by a mini army of 17 volunteers at the first Mayor's Big Christmas Shop recently.

Shoppers with disabilities were welcomed to Tiverton on Saturday, December 6, by volunteers who helped them gather Christmas shopping gifts and make the most of the festive atmosphere taking over the town.

Mayor of Tiverton Cllr Elaine Trump said: "I have thoroughly enjoyed my day of volunteering. Wouldn't it be lovely if everyone could give up a little bit of time once or twice a year to make a difference to people's lives.

"I very much hope this event will take place next year. It certainly gave me an insight into the difficulties of getting around Tiverton in a wheelchair from problems experienced with opening doors to bumpy pavements."

The day also saw shoppers enjoy live music from a number of choirs and youth bands. This included the first public performance of the 'Singing Aloud Tiverton Youth Choir,' which was led by Katy Baker.

Members of the Tiverton Youth Band and the Churches Together Choir joined forces to play and sing carols and a band comprised of members from Tiverton High Rock School made up of two vocalists and a guitarist entertained market shoppers with their mellow rock songs.

Father Christmas also made an appearance during the day — courtesy of the Tiverton Lions Club — and gave out more than 100 small gifts to Tiverton children.

Businesses were also in a generous mood, giving a variety of special offers and discounts to the volunteers and their shoppers, including free multi-storey car parking and discounted refreshments at shops, cafés and bakeries.

This was the first year the event — organised by Involve and the Tiverton and District Community Transport Association (Mid Devon Shopmobility) with support from the mayor — has been run.

Sue Snell, volunteer centre co-ordinator, said: "This was a great event to be a part of.

"A huge thank you to the wonderful team of volunteers who turned out on the day. I think many of them were very moved to see how much pleasure they had given someone by just giving a little of their time and help.

"They were a really lovely bunch of people."

Mrs Snell said the event was a great example of the community working together.

For many of the disabled shoppers, it was a rare chance to get out and about because of their mobility issues.

Mrs Snell received great feedback from the special shoppers about the day. One participant said: "We feel like we're royalty today, we've been so well looked after".

Another said: "It's been really good to see the places in Tiverton that I haven't been to for years."

Mrs Snell added: "The pleasure the shoppers had from the help and company of a friendly volunteer was unmistakable."

Shops and other organisations which supported the event were: Nice Nibbles, Mad Hatters, Café 1939, Garden Gate Café, Greggs the Bakers, Westexe Bakery, Pannier Market, Boots, Julian Graves, QS, JT Party House, Mid Devon District Council, Rotarians, Involve, Tiverton and District Volunteer Centre and Tiverton and District Community Transport Association.