A 'bonkers' couple has spent £20,000 to create the 'UK's craziest Christmas lights display' in their front garden.
Amid soaring energy bills, Malcolm Molloy, 64, and his wife Wendy, 62, estimate the cost of running their extravagant display across the festive holiday to set them back £1,000 - but they don't mind because it is all for a good cause.
They have wowed their neighbours and friends with their elaborate festive illumination s for the last 20 years, and have visitors travel to see their home in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire from across the country. The couple spend weeks adorning their four-bedroom property with 10,000 fairy lights before encouraging wellwishers to donate cash to good causes.
Since their first festive switch-on in 2002, the couple has raised more than £100,000 for Birmingham Children's Hospital and their local hospice. Earlier this year, there were fears that the renowned display would be toned down in response to spiralling energy bills or even cancelled altogether.
But the couple refused to be daunted and even added thousands more lights to make this year's spectacle bigger than ever.
Their garden is decked out with dazzling reindeers, swans, penguins, snowmen and, of course, Santa and his sleigh.
Malcolm, a retired fire officer, said: "This year we sat down and thought about the cost of living and energy crisis, but we wanted to keep supporting the hospice so decided to put the lights up for another year.
"I think we are both bonkers, but I love them.
"This year we have added a giant stag that turns different colours.
"I wanted to put it on the roof, but Wendy wouldn't let me, so I have had to compromise and put a smaller deer on the roof and put this one on the front lawn.
"Whilst I put up the bigger ones, Wendy creates themes around the garden with the smaller lights putting them into colours."
The couple expect this year's light show to add £1,000 to their usual bill - £250 more than they paid last year.
In a bid to keep costs down, the couple has switched a lot of lights to LED bulbs and are switching the lights off on New Year's Day instead of putting them on throughout January.
Even with the shortened switch-on period this year, the Molloys are expecting their light energy costs to exceed £1,000 this Christmas.
People from all over the region come to visit the display and the couple has even had light fanatics drive from London, Manchester and Liverpool to see their house light up the street.
Last year, at their light switch-on countdown, someone even proposed to their girlfriend on the Christmas sleigh outside the couple's house.
In total, the married couple have forked out around £20,000 on lights and decorations for their front lawn and said they will keep adding to the collection for years to come.
Wendy, who is disabled, said: "Everybody loves them, and it cheers the village up as it is normally so dark because we don't have any streetlamps in our rural community.
"It's all for a good cause and we get people visiting from all over the UK.
"When you get the support from people coming to see the lights, it makes you want to continue to put them up."
Have you gone all out with your Christmas light display despite energy prices? Please get in touch at webfeatures@trinitymirror.com
