Mayor refuses to judge 'evil' Halloween pumpkin contest

Tom Wilson, the mayor of Nuneaton, and his wife councillor Sonja Wilson, turned down an invitation to judge the event due to their religious beliefs.

They were asked to go to Nuneaton Town Centre for the Saturday afternoon event but after consulting fellow members at their Manor Court Baptist Church decided against it.

Mayor Wilson said he did not think young people should take part in Halloween because it glamourises evil. He said: "It glorifies Satan's angels and celebrates the dark side – Halloween is a pagan festival. I don't think it's appropriate to involve youngsters in this sort of thing.



"It's not something that I wanted to be associated with. People organise Halloween parties for children without even thinking about what is behind it. I don't feel I can be associated with anything connected with Halloween."

The pumpkin competition task fell to the deputy mayor, Councillor Clive Stringer, who said: "As far as I'm concerned it's just a bit of fun for the kids.

"I was brought up as a Christian but I don't see anything wrong with children dressing up as witches and wizards and making faces out of pumpkins."