If you’ve seen a group of people roaming around Andover with clipboards and peering into windows today, then no need to fear! It was the judges for the town’s Christmas window competition.

Organised by Andover BID, 14 of the High Street’s businesses entered the contest to battle it out for the prize of best window in town.

The winner will receive a £200 cash prize to donate to a charity of their choice, while Andover BID will also provide an individual prize separately.

The judges include Councillor Phil North, the leader of Test Valley Borough Council; Cllr Iris Andersen; Sean Caruana, the director of the Lifestyle Card and Ben Tuflin, director at Love Andover. They were also joined by Steve Godwin, Andover BID manager, who was not judging so to ensure “impartiality.”

They were tasked with assessing the businesses’ windows out of ten in a variety of categories, including the inventive use of materials, how well the window convers the Christmas spirit and the ‘wow factor’.

Beginning at At Last at the top of the High Street, the judges considered a variety of different displays, including The Travelling Cupcake’s baked goods-themed display; Tip Top Baloons’ dancing Santa and Mooch’s Narnia-themed window. Canto Gelato had an innovative twist on the contest, having an interior display as well as an external one.

The judges gave all their scores independently, with Steve to compile the scores and announce the winner of the contest on Monday, December 21.