Festive joy is back as Wigan home is lit again this Christmas

Those are the words of Paul Molyneux, who last year made the unpopular decision not to transform his home with Christmas lights and decorations.

Renovation work was taking place at the time and the Molyneux family had enough on their plate.

But it was a disappointment for the many people who enjoyed travelling from far and wide to see the vast array of festive lights covering their home on Shevington Lane, Shevington.

It also meant Rainbow children’s ward at Wigan Infirmary missed out on the thousands of pounds given each year by those enjoying the displays.

So Paul, his wife Gill and their three sons decided the Christmas decorations would return this December.

Paul, 47, said: “It’s such a good cause, it really is. They went without the extra money we would raise for them for 12 months so we thought we had to do something.”

The family started covering their home with thousands of lights in 2012 as a way to raise money for their sons’ school.

But it was when they chose to support the children’s ward the next year, after their sons spent time there, that they had a huge response.

Each year they collect around £3,000 in donations and use it to buy anything needed for the ward, from DVD players for children to watch films in bed to furniture for their rooms.

The couple take sons Ethan, 13, Alfie, 10, and nine-year-old Theo along to the hospital to see the difference they are making.

Each year the Christmas display has grown and Paul, an electrical contractor, spends around 17 days decorating the house with his colleagues.

He said: “We have a new tree this year which has got thousands and thousands of lights on it. We have Santa and a sleigh on the roof and lights.

“You can see it from the motorway, I keep getting told. There are about 30,000 lights in total.”

Visiting the house has become a popular activity on the festive calendars of many Wiganers.

But because it can be seen from the motorway, people from further afield have also popped by the house, with a coach party travelling from Scotland to Manchester visiting each year.

So far everyone is glad the display has returned.

Paul said: “Everything positive has been said. We can’t believe how busy it has been, even in the first week.”

The Christmas celebration does not come cheap - it costs around £1,000 in electricity to power the lights for five weeks and thousands to buy all the decorations.

But Paul said: “It would be much cheaper to just give the hospital £3,00o each year, but when you look out at nighttime, it’s not just the children, it’s the adults’ faces as well.”

The Christmas lights are switched on each morning and evening.

Paul added: “A big thank you to the people that keep donating. The lights will be on until January 6. Keep giving and the hospital will reap the rewards of that.”