A town’s big seasonal celebration was transformed into a glistening winter wonderland – just like top TV soap Emmerdale.

Organisers who wanted an early snowfall to give just the right frosty feel to the annual Christmas Festival in Betws y Coed were given a financial boost by housing association Cartrefi Conwy.

But rather than rely on the uncertainties of the climate, they arranged for a gallons of the  deep and crisp and even to be pumped from a giant snow-making machine into the grounds of St Mary’s Church on which the festival was centred.

Pathways, walls, trees and shrubbery were given an authentic looking coating of the white stuff  thanks to the generosity of housing association Cartrefi Conwy which contributed a third of the £10,000 cost of the exercise.

It’s hoped the snow-making machine will help create 12 part time jobs in the area.

Michelle Richards, the Upper Rural Conwy Development Officer who helped organise the festival and worked closely with Cartrefi Conwy on the big freeze project, said: “To make Nadolig Betws really special we wanted to give the churchyard a nice covering of snow.

“Because we couldn’t rely on the weather to provide us with that on the day it was decided to buy a snow machine to do the job.

“It cost £10,000 and Cartrefi Conwy kindly provided £3,500 towards it.

“Of course, the new machine will have much more use than just providing snow for the festival. It’s our aim to turn it into a business, supplying ready-made snow for events the whole year round such as snow-themed weddings and events with a winter theme.

“We’ll also be training up about a dozen people to operate the machine and the idea is for them to work part-time on a rota basis at the outside events for which it is booked.”

She added: “We’d like to thank Cartrefi Conwy and everyone else involved in making the snow machine project and the whole of this year’s festival, which again attracted thousands of people, such a great success.”

One of the local people who used the machine to provide the snowfall at St Mary’s in time for the Christmas Festival was Phil Blain.

He said: “It was great fun to use it for the first time to create the snow scene for Nadolig Betws.

“I received two days of special training in health and safety and the theory of the machine before we started the using it the day before the festival.

“Actually, the people who trained us were two guys from the company, Snow Business, which supplied the machine, and they had just finished creating a wintry scene for a sequence in the ITV soap Emmerdale.

“It was the one where sweet factory boss Jai gets stuck on a frozen lake, which was surrounded by snow. The team from the company told us all about how they did it, which was fascinating.

“The machine stands just under six feet tall and the ‘snow’ is loaded into it through a big hopper on the front.

“The white stuff is actually tiny pieces of recycled paper which are mixed with water inside the machine and then pumped out using compressed air.

“You just point the nozzle where you want the snow and is comes out really fast. It also looks very authentic and is quite easy to remove afterwards.”

Also anxious to thank Cartrefi Conwy for providing cash support towards buying the snow machine was local Conwy county councillor Liz Roberts.

She said: “This is the third year we’ve held Nadolig Betws and it just gets bigger every time.

“These days sustainability of projects is very important, so we are hoping to turn the machine into a year-round business supplying a snow setting for all kinds of events.

“Hopefully, this will mean the creation of about 12 part-time jobs to run the machine, which will be very good for the local economy.

“I’d like to thank Cartrefi Conwy for the financial help it has provided to the project and everyone else, both organisations and individuals, who have helped put this year’s festival together.”

Cllr Roberts explained that, apart from the snow, another highlight of the festival had been the lantern parade which traditionally began just as darkness fell on the town, which she said was once again packed with visitors from across North Wales, the Midlands and even Canada, from where a group had travelled especially for the occasion.

“A few years ago we asked local people what they wanted included in the festival and they said a lantern parade through the town, which is what we arranged,” she added.

“This year we’ve had all sorts of wonderful designs including castles and other large figures and about 50 people marched in the parade carrying them.

“There was also a marvellous Santa’s grotto in the grounds of the church, which had lots of  trees inside also covered in snow by the machine.

“Out on Cae Llan, which is the town big recreation field, we had stalls and sideshows along with a display of archery.

“I think that everyone who came along to the festival enjoyed the whole day very much.”

Cartrefi Conwy Chief Executive Andrew Bowden said: “We were pleased to provide funding to buy this wonderful machine.

“Our mission statement is to create communities to be proud of and events like the Christmas celebrations in Betws y Coed bring people together in a good way.

“In the longer term, the snow-making machine will help provide employment and a source of income for the community. Christmas really has come early in Betws y Coed.”

Olympic hero Tom James has paid tribute to his mum for the pivotal role she played in helping him to win two gold medals.

Luckily for him his mother, Julia James, is a top physiotherapist who provided professional as well as personal support while he recovered from injuries and surgery during his distinguished career.

During his latest visit home, Tom popped in to see her at work at the Spire Yale Consulting Rooms in Abergele which is a satellite to the private Spire Yale Hospital in Wrexham.

Tom, 29, who grew up in Coedpoeth, near Wrexham, and began rowing as a pupil at Chester’s King’s School. He struck gold for Britain in the coxless fours at both the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympic Games.

He said: “As an athlete you are always going to suffer injuries and you have to know how to deal with them. I suffered quite a few serious injuries and always sought mum’s expert advice so I could recover as quickly as possible.

“Mum has without doubt been a massive help to me when it comes to the treatment of injuries.

“It’s vital you trust the judgement of both your surgeon and physiotherapist. And when it comes to mum, I trust her implicitly although I’m sure she will say I’m by no means the easiest of patients to deal with!”

Tom, who represented Cambridge as part of their Boat Race crew four times as well as winning won gold medals as part of the GB coxless fours in the 2011 World Rowing Championships and the Rowing World Cup, added: “Throughout my international rowing career I did suffer several bad injuries and had to undergo surgery on a number of occasions.

“I had surgery on a tear in my hip, a knee injury as well as on my wrist and back. The back injury was perhaps the worst as we really didn’t know what the problem was. However, it caused me to miss almost a year and stay out of the boat prior to Beijing, which was difficult.

“Initially we thought it was a rib stress fracture as my side was very tight and sore. However, it turned out it was an old hip injury that manifested itself in my back.

“It turned out I had an old back injury that was made worse because of the hip injury.

“Mum was very much part of the team that got me back in the boat. I had surgery at a Spire hospital in Cambridge and then returned home to Coedpoeth to convalesce and to get mum’s advice. She soon had things moving in the right direction, along with the rest of her team at The Chartered Physiotherapy Clinic.

“Having mum on hand to give me expert advice and support when I needed it definitely helped me become a successful international and Olympic rower.

“She was certainly a big part of the gold medal-winning team!”

Tom, who has now retired from competitive rowing, is about to start work as Business Consultant with a top London firm.

Julia said: “Being an athlete he knew all about injuries and sometimes had his own ideas as to how they should be treated.

“And of course, like most athletes, he always wanted to get back training and competing as fast as possible.

“However, whenever he had surgery, such as the back injury which was operated on at Spire Cambridge, he always came straight back to Wrexham and we’d sit down and discuss the way forward.”

Julia, who trained at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital and has 40 years experience as a musculoskeletal physiotherapist, is the practice principal of  the independent Chartered Physiotherapy Clinic Limited in Wrexham

She said: “Initially, we were based at Spire Yale Hospital, Wrexham but now have our own premises on Wrexham Technology Park, almost next door to the hospital.

“We enjoy a very close relationship with the hospital, which we visit several times a day to see in-patients and offer post-operative advice.

“In fact our team of qualified physiotherapists are contracted to deliver physiotherapy services to what is North Wales’ sole private hospital. We offer a complete physiotherapy service including acupuncture and electrotherapy treatments.”

She added: “I have always enjoyed being a physiotherapist and take a great deal of satisfaction from treating a patient and seeing their condition improve whether the treatment is post operative or a long standing condition.

“I also enjoy seeing and treating patients at the Spire Abergele Consulting Rooms which is a bright, modern and relaxing venue.”

“I think people are often surprised at the range of conditions we do treat. There is perhaps a view that physiotherapists just deal with aches and strains. Nothing could be further from the truth.

“Of course we do treat spinal, sport and soft tissue injuries as well as joint problems, arthritis, trauma and fractures.

“But we also treat stress and incontinence issues in both men and women, neurological conditions such as stroke, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s, chest complaints such as asthma and bronchitis, vestibular disorders such as vertigo and dizziness and pain management of both chronic and acute conditions.

“And all our physiotherapists are chartered and registered with the Health Professions Council while staff with a particular interest and expertise belong to special interest groups which require on-going training and development.”

Sue Jones, the Manager of Spire Yale Hospital and the Consulting Rooms in Abergele, said: “Spire Yale has enjoyed a long relationship with Julia James and the rest of the team. I know her gold medal winning son Tom trusts his mum’s judgement and skills as a physiotherapist and I do to.

“The service they provide is exceptional and I know, from patient feedback, how popular their clinics and consultations are. This year we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Spire Yale and for much of that time Julia and her team have provided an excellent physiotherapy service to our patients.”