SHOPPERS coming to Malvern to enjoy the festivities can enjoy free car parking in the run up to Christmas as a host of fun events get underway.

Malvern Hills District Council is offering free parking in all of its car parks during December.

Visitors to the area will be able to take advantage and park for free all day on Sunday, December 15 and December 22.

Parking will also be free from midday on Saturday, December 14 and December 21.

The move has been introduced to encourage shopping locally during the festive period.

Simon Smith, economic development manager at Malvern Hills District Council, said: “We are keen to attract shoppers and support local businesses across the three towns during the festive period. Free parking plays a role in bringing extra trade during this important time for retailers and we hope it will encourage everyone to support their local traders and our town centres.”

READ MORE: Family's second Christmas without missing man Matthew Bone

This weekend sees a host of festive activities in and around Malvern, with something for everyone on offer.

Saturday sees the continuation of the EnviroWeek photo exhibition in Great Malvern Priory.

The exhibition features the ten winning photographs from Malvern Hills District Council’s Enviro Week photo competition, along with some of the highly commended images.

There are also Christmas concerts at Great Malvern Priory, Holy Trinity Church and St Leonard’s.

Sunday sees the Croome family Christmas trail, which involves an in-depth look at some of the areas oldest and tallest trees.

In the evening, there will also be a concert from the Malvern Jazz Collective at Malvern Cube from 7.30pm.

To find out more about events happening in and around Malvern this week, go to visitthemalverns.org/whats-on/event-finder/