DIGNITARIES and guests including Oxfordshire’s Lord Lieutenant Tim Stevenson cheered as the lights on a Christmas tree were switched on at a topping-out ceremony at Oxford’s Pegasus Theatre today.

The £7.2m redevelopment in Magdalen Road, East Oxford, is now more than half complete.

Pegasus chief executive Euton Daley said: “For us not only does it signify that things are under control and on time, it makes it even more of a reality.

"The bulding is going like a dream – which means my focus can be on planning what we're going to put in it.”

Pegasus Theatre youth trustee Ruby Lloyd Shogbesan, 16, of East Oxford, helped switch on the tree lights.

She said: “I’m so excited. I can finally see what has been going on behind the hoardings all this time.

"It’s a landmark moment for everyone at Pegasus — especially us young people. We’ve been looking forward to this for such a long time.”

Work is expected to be completed by April or May next year, with the building set to reopen to the public in September.