HOLIDAYS are coming as the iconic Coca-Cola Christmas truck rolled into North Swindon to herald the start of the festive period this weekend.

Lucky visitors queued up in their hundreds to pose for a free festive shot alongside the holiday truck parked at the Asda Haydon Supercentre, in the Orbital Shopping Park.

There were queues stretching back to the edge of the car park and families and friends eagerly awaited their turn at seeing the iconic truck up close.

Christmassy cans of coke were delivered across the Haydon Centre car park by elves as Father Christmas delivered a day of fizzy festivities.

The winter wonderland saw families and friends sipping on their free cans before posing in front of the twinkling tinsel and fairylight flooded truck.

Sarah and Shelley King from Haydon Wick queued with daughter Matilda, who is 10 months old, in anticipation of celebrating her first Christmas with a trip to the truck.

“It’s pretty cool to be here, really exciting to see the truck up close. We’re looking to a get a family photo for Matilda’s memory box,” said Sarah, 25.

Shelley, 24, added: “It’s amazing and it definitely makes you feel Christmassy when you see the advert and being here today. We’ll be back next year.”

Yvonne Nolan from Old Town brought along great-nephews George, six and Jack, four.

“It’s really magical seeing the truck, the kids have absolutely loved it today. It’s very impressive and it gets you in the festive mood which is why it’s been so popular today,” she said.

Jingle bells were also heard as a selection of festive ditties including Silent Night, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and Merry Christmas Everyone played.

An estimated 7,000 cans of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Coke Zero were handed out on the day.

In the evening a short festive animation was projected onto the back of the truck, showing the inner workings of the Coca-Cola Christmas factory.

Swindon was the truck’s 14th stop on its nationwide tour before it visited Bradford and Milton Keynes on Sunday (November 27) and Bournemouth and Wrexham on Tuesday (November 29) The tour will end in London’s Leicester Square on December 20.

The Coca-Cola Christmas truck first rose to fame in 1995 when it appeared in a TV advert for the soft drinks brand and has since become a signal for the start of the holiday season.