Watch Elm Close Christmas lights bigger than ever this year!

Charity Christmas lights display in Watch Elm Close, Bradley Stoke.

Two charities stand to benefit to the tune of several hundred pounds from an extravagant Christmas lights display on a house in Watch Elm Close, Bradley Stoke (BS32 8AN; map).

Mike Checkley and Terry James have decorated the outside of their home with forty-four sets of lights, incorporating a total of around 17,000 individual bulbs, and are inviting people who visit the festive display to make donations, which will be shared equally between Cancer Research UK and Freewheelers Blood Bikes.

Having taken around a week to set up, the display went ‘live’ on 1st December. It will be powered-up every night, between 4pm and 9.30pm, until Sunday 1st January 2017. Anyone visiting the display may leave a donation in a collecting bucket positioned on the drive of the property.

The display has grown from just a single Christmas tree six years ago to what must now be one of the biggest in the area. New additions this year include a Santa tree, a snowman tree, three pre-lit window trees and two new Christmas trees in the garage conversion. The pair say they try to “keep things simple”, with the focus being principally on the lights rather than lots of novelty items.

Mike said:

“We choose Cancer Research UK as cancer has affected both our families and we know touches many others. The Blood Bikes do a fantastic job supporting the NHS and we have friends who ride for the charity.”

“Feedback so far has been 100 percent positive and many children say they look forward to our lights every year, which is lovely.”

Donations can also be made online via a MyDonate page: Mike and Terry’s Christmas Lights 2016

Mike Checkley and Terry James (centre, l-r), hosts of a charity Christmas lights display in Watch Elm Close, Bradley Stoke, with Jenny Brooker (left) and Chris Brooker (right), representatives of Freewheelers Blood Bikes (one of the charities being supported).

Photo: Mike Checkley and Terry James (centre, l-r) with Jenny Brooker (left) and Chris Brooker (right), representatives of Freewheelers.

• We’d love to see YOUR photos of other Christmas lights displays in Bradley Stoke. Please email them to photos@bradleystokejournal.co.uk, add as a comment on this Facebook post  or post on Twitter mentioning @TheBSJournal.

Share this page: