CONFUSION over the banning of Christmas decorations at a village hall has left the community in Croft in uproar.

Parents at Croft Pre-School were sent letters telling them that their children would not be allowed to put up Christmas decorations when they had first hoped because of a meeting of Jehovah’s Witnesses taking place at Croft Memorial Hall, Mustard Lane, on December 12.

One upset parent said: “They said that they are there for one night and they do not want anything offensive. I think it's a great shame.”

But the committee in charge of the hall and its bookings has hit out at the rumours of a ban on Christmas decorations saying that they had not told the pre-school it could not put any up.

A hall spokesman said: “We have told them if they put them up before the 12th they have to take them down for that day and then put them back up again after that date.”

A member of the pre-school confirmed that letters had been sent out to parents informing them that the school would not be putting up decorations until Monday, December 14 in case parents wondered why they had not decorated the hall.

But with the pre-school, which holds morning sessions during the week, only open for five days from December 14 many of the youngsters who go there on a part time basis would only get to see the decorations once or twice in that week.

News of the letters being sent out to parents soon spread across the Croft community and left some residents wondering if Christmas was banned from the hall.

But that is something the committee strongly denies.

"We have done everything we possibly could [to come to an agreement over decorations], we have tried to sort it out for both sides. We are trying to run this community hall for everyone," added the spokesman.

"We are a charity and we do not discriminate. Anyone can hire the hall.

“We do our best for the pre-school and we have spent money so it has better facilities. We would like to share these with everyone.”