THE sound of Christmas rang out at the traditional carol concert organised by the Lord Mayor of Oxford. The Town Hall in St Aldate’s was packed for the concert yesterday afternoon.

The annual concert takes place every December and is hosted by the Lord Mayor to raise money for his or her chosen groups.

This year, Dee Sinclair chose cancer centre Maggie’s Oxford and homeless organisation Crisis Skylight.

Ms Sinclair said: “It went really well, and we raised £3,570.

“There is still money coming in, but we were really pleased with the result.”

Among the audience was 43-year-old Charmaine Cox, a staff nurse at the Churchill hospital, who goes every year. But this year she also took along a special guest for the first time – her granddaughter Isla Austin, who is just eight months old.

Ms Cox said: “She loved it.”