A CHRISTMAS lights display near Whitchurch has raised more than £1,000 for a regional charity.

At the end of November Higher Heath resident Phil Tranter marked the beginning of Christmas by switching on his display in Twemlows Avenue, much to the delight of local residents.

In previous years he has invited neighbours to a grand switch on, supported with fireworks and a barbecue, all helping raise essential money for the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (MAAC).

But because of the current Covid situation and social distancing measures, a much quieter switch-on took place on Saturday, November 28.

The display ran all though December an in total was able to raise £1,125.61 for the MAAC, despite inclement weather threatening to blow the whole display away.

Phil explained: "I am really pleased to say that we raised a total of £1,1,25.61.

"Also, in addition to raising money, I think we truly lifted spirits too in what are challenging times.

"One other challenge was trying to keep a 32 foot/10 meter Santa from floating away – never before have I followed the wind updates on my weather app so much.

"Anyway, the publicity and subsequent word-of-mouth all helped to raise this wonderful sum for the MAAC.

"We are already planning for the next display, bearing in mind that I’ve not finished taking this year’s down yet!"