Crowds of people gathered on Southend High Street yesterday eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Coca Cola Christmas Truck.

The four meter hight truck, lit by 372 bulbs and 8,772 fairy lights has so far travelled more than 730,000 miles which equates to 29 trips around the world.

It was parked by the Victoria Plaza from 11am until 7pm.

It was free to visit the truck and take a selfie with the team handing out free cans of Coca Cola merchandise.

Although some visitors weren’t impressed with the truck, Sarah-Jayne Patchett from Southend said: “Sorry to be negative but it’s a bit disappointing, it’s nothing like what you see on tv. There’s none of that magical holidays are coming music and you can’t get on it.

“I thought they would have done it up so when they had parked up you could get on it and have your photo taken

After a few minutes of staring at it, that’s it. It’s a shame.

Other visitors said it was “good fun” and people were “expecting too much.

Caroline Wood from Southend visited the truck last year, she said: “My daughter followed the truck into town at 6.30am this morning all lit up and we watched it leave Southend last year. It looks lovely.

The advert is 22 years old this year, dont forget to send your pictures in with #HolidaysAreComing