The winners of Maldon Carnival's spot the reindeer competition were awarded with hampers by the town mayor and carnival princess yesterday (Sunday, 23 January), thanks to generous donations from local businesses.

Throughout December, children were invited to find all 100 reindeers hidden in shop windows across Maldon High Street in the popular competition, which is organised by the Maldon Carnival Association each year.

Reuben, aged 4, won first prize while Esme, 7, Presley, 6, and Abigail, 10, were the runners-up.

They were awarded with a hamper each, put together with donations from independent businesses in the town, presented by town mayor David Ogg and carnival princess Amy.

Lydia, mum of Reuben and Esme, said her children "enjoyed the challenge" of finding all the reindeers.

She said: "It gave them a really good incentive to go on wintery walks and discover a few more hidden reindeers each time.

"We really enjoyed exploring the high street with its Christmas displays and finding some new shops that we didn't know existed.

"The children were thrilled with their prizes and would like to say a huge thank you to the local shops which kindly donated treats for them. It really helped to bring the community together."

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Allison Gray, chair of the Maldon Business Board and owner of Willow & Fox, said: "Last year's spot the reindeer event was cancelled due to Covid - so when the Maldon Carnival Association asked for help to get businesses involved this year, I was happy to help.

"With an unusual Christmas the year before we wanted to give the kids a really nice gift this year.

"The generosity of the businesses was amazing and enabled us to put four hampers together.

"I really hope that businesses will continue to support the event for years to come. I think next year we will see some changes to make it even better."

This year, the event - which usually costs £1 to enter - was free for the public as Maldon District Council paid for the reindeer using the Government's Welcome Back Fund.