PEOPLE who have been disappointed in the past by not being able to get a place at a St Albans Abbey carol service should be more successful on Saturday. For the Abbey is holding 30-minute carol services every hour on the hour from 11am to 4pm on the one

PEOPLE who have been disappointed in the past by not being able to get a place at a St Albans Abbey carol service should be more successful on Saturday.

For the Abbey is holding 30-minute carol services every hour on the hour from 11am to 4pm on the one day only. The normal carol services will take place on Sunday and Monday evenings.

The extra Saturday services are specifically for people who have been unable to get into a carol service in the past because they have been too full - even though the Abbey has the largest nave in England.

So popular are the Abbey's carol services that people come to them from all over the Herts and Beds diocese and beyond.

At the same time there will be a Christmas craft market along Waxhouse Gate in the Abbey precincts. Eighteen stalls will be selling their wares and festive refreshments for carollers making their way to the Abbey.

Sub-Dean, Canon Stephen Lake, said combining the craft fair with the carol services would help people beat the credit crunch and the carol crush in one go.

He added: "It is always disappointing to turn people away because the Abbey is full. This way of combining the busyness of the last Saturday before Christmas with a real Christmas dimension should avoid that.

"Some people will stay for more than one service and hear two choirs.