Festive display raises £20,000 for charity

Detached house covered in Christmas lights. There are snowmen and Father Christmases and reindeer and a sleigh with multicoloured rope lights and displays in the garden and on the house. There are the words Merry Christmas lit up on the roof of the houseTracey and Martin Connolly

Tracey and Martin Connolly have been bringing festive cheer to their street for over 20 years

Lara King
BBC newsNorth East Lincolnshire

For more than 20 years Martin and Tracey Connolly have been putting on an extravaganza of Christmas lights at their Grimsby home.

Eight years ago the couple started to collect for charity and have raised £20,000 since then.

They chose to benefit St Andrew's Hospice in memory of a friend who was looked after there.

Mr Connolly said the lights start to go up in October and thousands of people are expected to come and view them before the end of the display.

Couple standing in front of a house with Christmas decorations on the front of the house and in the garden. The woman who is wearing glasses has blonde hair and is smiling and has a blue coat on with a faux fur hood. The man is taller and has a black beanie hat on and is wearing black glasses and is smiling. He has long blonde/grey hair and a goatee beard with a moustache. There is a blue sky and they're standing next to a tree.Lara King

Tracey and Martin have raised thousands of pounds for St Andrew's Hospice with their festive lights

Mr Connolly said he had never counted how many lights he had, but both the house and garden were covered.

He said: "We've been doing it for that many years we just replace them if needed but I know there are lots and lots."

Mrs Connolly said they chose to fundraise for St Andrew's Hospice because "they do an amazing thing for the community and it's such a worthy cause".

She added: "When our friend passed away we did it in his memory and now we carry it on for the hospice".

Tens of thousands of people have been to look at the lights over the years and thousands are expected this year.

Martin said: "They take you back to an era when lights used to be like this. I even drive around sometimes and look myself!"

They will be switched on at 17:00 GMT on Saturday and will be turned off after New Year's Eve.

Emily Aitken, head of fundraising for the hospice, said: "It's just unbelievable, it brings so much sense of joy. The hard work Martin and Tracey put in every year is amazing and we simply couldn't do what we do without people like them."

But what happens to all the lights when they are switched off for the year?

Mr Connolly said: "None of them stay up, I built some stores near the house for the decorations, everything comes down and gets put away."

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