TRANENT’S annual Christmas lights display will not go ahead as normal this year after a company boss decided to end his backing of the event. . . due to "abuse" he suffered over a controversial football club signing.

Property group MPACT has paid for the display for the past six years by donating about £20,000 each winter. Its co-owner Matthew Wright, who lives in the town, says he has invested hundreds of thousands of pounds in the community over the years.

In 2023, his company pledged to finance the lights for another two years.

But Mr Wright, who was a key backer at Lowland League football club Tranent FC, has confirmed that the company has now withdrawn support for the Xmas lights "and the community as a whole".

He said that his decision was a result of abuse he had received when he was involved with Tranent FC after the club signed a player who would later appear in court on domestic abuse charges.

READ MORE: Tranent terminate Jordon Forster's contract after domestic abuse admission

Last June, Tranent FC sacked their newly signed player Jordon Forster, once of Hibernian, following a public backlash against his club, who had supported him despite his guilty pleas to domestic abuse charges.

Forster, 29, had initially been backed by club bosses but the board backtracked and admitted making a “mistake” supporting the player.

Tranent FC chiefs initially stated they wanted to help the former Hibs star with his “reformation” but a statement was later issued from from the club to say that Forster’s contract has been terminated.

Mr Wright told the Courier that the decision to withdraw funding from the town's lights display, and the community as a whole,  was “personal”.

He said: “What I’ve done for the community over the years runs into hundreds of thousands of pounds of investment into Tranent since I moved here.

“There was a certain situation when I was part of the football club when we signed a certain individual last year that had pending charges that we didn’t know anything about; the person lied to us.

“So when we got the guilty verdict and he left the football club, certain people on that community council board and certain [East Lothian Council] councillors, [gave us] stick and personal abuse, hence the reason I left the football club and I’ve decided to withdraw my support from the community as a whole."

READ MORE: Former Hibs star banned from contacting his ex-partner

He added: "We made a mistake: he had a charge pending for domestic abuse. We were getting it from all angles and it was completely unfair.

“On a personal level, I’m someone who will wholeheartedly completely condemn that sort of behaviour. But the threats to people, it was disgusting. Tranent [FC] were [even apparently] getting removed from [their ground] Foresters Park and everything [because of it]. It was disgusting.

“Hence the reason I left the club and hence I’m withdrawing all community funding. Simple.

“Our social responsibility is extremely important to us as a business and to my values but, unfortunately, sadly, that will not be the community in Tranent. It’s extremely sad but it is what it is.”

Unless other funding can be found, it seems that the much-loved Christmas lights display, organised by the town's community council, will have to be significantly scaled back.

Hiring the lights from East Lothian Council costs about £4,000 annually, which Tranent and Elphinstone Community Council (TECC) has already paid for for 2024 and 2025.

The additional costs come from the installation of the lights, which are switched on every year during a ceremony on Tranent’s Winton Place.

TECC chairperson Mike Falconer says that the group will now have a subgroup meeting to explore other avenues.

He told the Courier: “If we were paying the council to put the lights up on top of hiring them, that would cost us over £12,000 extra.

“We can’t afford that – we don’t have that sort of money in our annual grant.

“Going forward, if we can’t get the street lights up then we’ll look at a cheaper alternative to decorating Winton Place and Civic Square. We’ll also be looking at sponsorship and fundraising.

“We can at least still afford to put up the tree and all the lights on the tree.

“Discussions are ongoing but we’re going to be able to pull something off – we just don’t know what yet.”

Mr Falconer added that he was “incredibly grateful” to MPACT for the company's support over the years.