The front garden of a West Molesey house has been transformed into a winter wonderland to raise money for Walton Leigh School.
Jim and Carol Cooper, who live in Adecroft Way, filled their driveway with inflatables and Christmas lights at the start of December and are asking those who enjoy their efforts to donate money for the special needs school.
Mr Cooper works as an escort on one of the buses taking pupils to and from school each day and knows how much the school would benefit from a donation.
The eye-catching display has 14 inflatables and numerous sets of lights, bringing the total number to decorations on the outside of the house to between 40 and 50.
To add to the Christmas magic, the couple also have a snow machine and when they see children coming along the road, they turn it on, much to the delight on youngsters.
Mr Cooper said: “Some people might say it’s tacky, but we do it for the kids. It doesn’t bother me. The Brownies and Rainbows come around every Christmas and each year I put on a Santa suit and we invite them in to get presents.
“Our neighbours don’t seem to mind. We get the odd congestion of people who drive along and stop to look but nobody seems to complain. It’s only a couple of weeks a year.”
The festive display took three days to put up and within two days, Mr Cooper said he had already gained £60 in donations and has hopes of raising a few hundred pounds by the time the display comes down in January.
Mr Cooper said he will continue to decorate his house until he is unable to climb up the ladder.
A spokeswoman from Walton Leigh School said: “The school is always grateful for fundraising efforts made on its behalf particularly at Christmas as we like to make it a special time for our students which does incur additional expenditure.
“We appreciate the donations of everyone at a time when they too have extra costs. Thank you to anyone who has made a donation and to Jim for thinking of us.”
The lights at the house will be on from 4pm to 10pm each day and people can leave donations in two boxes at the end of the driveway.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here