Thanks to the efforts of Rabbi Mendy Singer and Bristol Chabad, a ten-foot menorah has been lit for the first time in Plymouth, home to the oldest Ashkenazi synagogue still in regular use in the English speaking world.

Rabbi Singer took the giant menorah to locations across the south-west during the festival. He told the JC that nearly 100 people attended the Plymouth ceremony, including a number of “fascinated” non-Jews.

“It’s a small community there. They struggle a bit and are very short on numbers,” he said.

“For many of them, seeing that many Jewish people get together was amazing.”

Some supporters made car journeys of up to three hours to attend. “There were people coming from all over the country.”

The gathering was “a great first for Plymouth”, said local councillor Chaz Singh.

He hailed the positive interfaith relations that enabled him, a Sikh politician, to help organise a Chanukah celebration.

Cllr Singh wanted to “make people aware of traditions that happen in other cultures, especially in a city like Plymouth”.

The Lord Mayor was also among those present with a civic procession led by a mace bearer.

Rabbi Singer added that a donor had been found to enable a giant menorah to be sited in Plymouth for the whole of Chanukah next year.