People travelling to Bury St Edmunds at the weekends during the run up to Christmas will be able park for free at some locations in the town.

Both West Suffolk Council and Greene King are making their car parks free to use for visitors, starting from this weekend so that people can beat the busy town centre car park queues.

Jo Kreckler, head of external communications at Greene King, said: “We’re always keen to support our community in Bury, so we’re pleased to be able to offer our car park at no cost to locals coming to town for weekend Christmas shopping.”

Greene Kings have 200 spaces in its car park which is off Cullum Road and will be available from 8am to 5pm.

The car park is approximately a 10-15 minute walk away from the town centre.

The Council’s Olding Road car park, which is about 10-15 minutes-walk from the town centre and has 300 spaces.

Mark Walsh, West Suffolk Council’s Director for Operations, said: “We are delighted to have the support of Greene King, one of the town’s biggest employers, as we approach such an important time of year for many town centre businesses.

"Both Greene King’s car park and our own car park in Olding Road, offer more choice for people visiting the town on the weekends between now and Christmas.

"Both are being made available at no cost to drivers and offer an alternative option to our busy town centre car parks for people who want to beat the queues and are happy to Park and Walk.”

There is plenty to do in the town centre of the festive period with shopping, a lights and music extravaganza, a full Santa experience, Christmas markets, live music and carols.