Bristol house Christmas lights switch-on attracts hundreds

The switch-on of more than 50,000 Christmas lights at a house in Bristol has attracted hundreds of spectators.

Featuring 70 figures including Santas and a life-sized nativity, the lights display at Rosemary Brailsford's home in Brentry took 12 days to erect.

Her sons, Lee and Paul, have been decorating her end-of-terrace house each Christmas for the past two decades to raise money for charity.

The £10,000 display is due to be lit up six hours a day until the new year.

The Brailsford brothers began decorating their mother's house in 1989, with a modest lit-up Christmas tree.

Since then, "it's got bigger and bigger", and the annual extravaganza now boasts 15 Santas, 10 reindeer, 10 snowmen, 50 rope-light shapes, trains, elves, soldiers and a nativity on a specially built stage.

The £10,000 display features 70 figures including Santas and snowmen and a life-sized nativity which came from the US

This year, in a nod to Bristol's status as European Green Capital, the Brailsfords have started to convert all of the 50,000 bulbs to LEDs

Lee Brailsford said preparing for Tuesday night's switch-on had been a lot of work but "really exciting".

"All our friends and family come along to help and the whole community turns out to see the lights go on," he said.

"The reaction when we press the button for the first time makes it all worthwhile."

'Christmas spirit'

Costing about £600 to power, the display has raised more then £30,000 for children's hospital charity the Grand Appeal over the years, and in 2014 - the most successful year so far - it raised £8,100 for charity.

Nicola Masters, director of the Grand Appeal, said she was "so grateful" for the "incredible support".

"The switch-on has become something people from all over the region really look forward to and the event that really gets people into the Christmas spirit," she said.

The display is due to run until 2 January, after which the brothers will spend three days taking it all down.

Last year, the display raised £8,100 for charity - its most successful Christmas so far

The 50,000-light display took the brothers six weekends to erect and in January they will spend three days taking it all down