THE festive spirit has arrived... in time for Halloween.

It may be two months to Christmas but the Clock Tower in Brighton has already been decorated with strings of bright lights.

Members of the public watched as a team of workers scaled the tower to hang up the decorations, which are paid for by the 517 businesses that make up the Business Improvement District (BID).

The lights are installed early ahead of the Christmas period for load testing. They are due to be switched on Monday, November 16.

However, it is understood there will not be an event to celebrate the switch on due to coronavirus restrictions.

Photographer Andrew Gardner took these pictures which show the team working through the darkness to complete the job.

He said: “I think the lights at the Clock Tower are great to have up and should be on all year.

“Although it is definitely too early to have Christmas decorations of any sort going up, the lights on the Clock Tower look fantastic regardless of whether they’re Christmas related and they create a great focal point on the tower itself.”

The decorations will cover the whole of the improvement district, which spans Western Road, Preston Street, North Street, parts of both The Lanes and North Laine.

The Brighton BID was formed to create a thriving, safe, clean and vibrant city centre that residents and visitors want to come back to.

It will focus on creating a safer environment for visitors, producing exciting Christmas light displays and, at the right time, dressing the city for summer with hanging baskets and bunting.

Over five years nearly, £1.8 million will be invested in Brighton city centre by its traders.

In September, the organisation told The Argus that businesses can survive the coronavirus measures introduced by the government.