Lancashire’s Christmas light displays raise almost £12,000 for Derian House

A map of the light displays meant that families could take the Deck the Halls tour and donate which will help Derian House in Chorley look after 400 children and young people with life-limiting illnesses across the north west, and their families.

One home in Leyland pulled out all the stops for the charity’s Deck the Halls event - with lots of bright lights and festive figures taking stage. Joan Mills, who recently celebrated her 70th birthday, said: “Lighting up my house is my way of supporting a brilliant local charity and also thinking of those families that have lost someone precious. However, it’s also my way of remembering those I have lost over the past few years. My husband Malcolm passed away in 2020, and then my mum in March last year. My daughter lost her fiancé three years ago on New Year’s Eve. Before that, I lost my sister and my dad. So when I light up my home, I’m doing it all for them really. I’ll definitely do it again – despite having lost an eight foot inflatable snowman somewhere along the way!”

Kerry Pritchard, Community Fundraiser at Derian House, said: “This year’s Deck the Halls event has been a huge success and on behalf of all the families looked after by Derian House, I just want to thank everyone who put in so much effort – we simply couldn’t have done it without you. It has been great to see communities come together to switch on their lights and shout about what we do here at Derian. We are grateful to everyone who took part and raised vital funds to help us care for our children.”