A CRACKING Christmas charity display of lights has been attracting crowds from all around to one Finstall home.
Wendy and Malcolm Molloy have been decorating their house, on Alcester Road, since 2001 and have seen people flock from miles and raised almost £40,000 for charity.
The annual festive switch-on took place on Sunday (November 30) and saw traffic grind to a halt at one point because of the sheer volume of people visiting the area for the special event.
The couple also showed their generosity and Christmas spirit by providing free sweets, mulled wine and mince pies to visitors who gathered for the turn-on event.
The Finstall illuminations will remain shining brightly until January 6.
In 2013, passing spectators left a whopping £4,400 in the donation box at the bottom of the garden – it was all given to The Primrose Hospice and Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Every year, it takes Malcolm six weeks of solid work to put up the lights and every year he has to spend between £800 and £900 replacing broken bulbs and on electricity bills.
The display included an illuminated grotto with Santa, snowmen, reindeer, polar bears, giant snowflakes, a train and sparkling Christmas trees.
Malcolm buys a selection of new decorations each year, to replace failing or faulty ones.
It all began in 2001 and Malcolm wanted to show his own passion for the festive season with a few lights however when people started throwing coins on his lawn he and his wife had the idea of raising money for charity.
Over the years there have been regular attempts to steal the money from the charity box outside the house.
Some of the free-standing silhouette decorations have also been stolen in past but the couple have refused to let this dampen their enthusiasm and they are hoping to raise even more for the two causes.
Malcolm said: “I’m just a big kid and I love spending time decorating the house and garden ahead of the switch on event.
“We always have a good crowd turn up when we turn the lights on but this year we were amazed by the sheer volume of people who came.”
Malcolm and Wendy Molloy have seen people travel from miles around to see their display. s
