Mystery surrounds a last-minute decision to cancel a Christmas lights switch-on event in East Renfrewshire.

The surprise announcement was made 24 hours before the eagerly-anticipated annual event was due to take place in Giffnock.

On Friday, a statement was posted by East Renfrewshire Council on its social media sites on behalf of event organisers Giffnock Village – a group of local traders, bar and restaurant owners – citing “unforeseen circumstances” for the cancellation.

Giffnock Village is part of the Business Improvement District (BID) scheme and the lights switch-on was due to take place on Saturday night, after an all-day event at the RBS car park in Fenwick Road that was supposed to include live music, funfair rides and fireworks.

Council chiefs have stressed it was not their decision to cancel the celebrations, with all inquiries referred to Giffnock Village.

However, when contacted by the Barrhead News, the business organisation did not elaborate on reasons for the cancellation.

A spokesperson said: “Our apologies go to all of our suppliers for the cancellation of the Christmas lights switch-on event and to the businesses and wider community who were disappointed.

“We understand how frustrated people are. We share their disappointment.

“In an attempt to not let anyone down, we had been working to the latest possible moment to overcome the unforeseen circumstances which ultimately led to our decision to cancel the event. Using some of our contacts, we were able to point some of our suppliers towards work elsewhere but we unfortunately were not able to do this for everyone.

“Please rest assured, however, that our board will be working hard to deliver exciting events and initiatives which will deliver real benefits for our community.

“We hope these will create opportunities for the suppliers who missed out due to the switch-on cancellation.

“We are also encouraging people to get behind businesses in our community this Christmas.”