Rocking around the Christmas tree: How entertainer's garden light display flashes in time to his radio show (and Santa conducts the music)

By REBECCA SEALES



Completely crackers! Paul Toole from Wells, Somerset decorates his bungalow with 50,000 Christmas lights



A Christmas-crazy entertainer has transformed his bungalow into a winter wonderland with 50,000 fairy lights - which flash in time to his own radio station.

Paul Toole, 36, started with two strings of lights in 1998 and since then has spent £20,000 on illuminations.

Mr Toole spends all year planning his incredible display - which boasts a ferris wheel, polar bears, a waterfall and a quarter of a mile of fake snow.



Lights... action: Mr Toole puts the finishing touches to his display, which he began putting up on October 24



Visitors to his cul-de-sac in Wells, Somerset, are invited to tune their car radios to 89.2FM, which belts out 11 festive tunes on a loop.

His lights flash in time with the music while a Father Christmas figure in his garden appears to 'conduct' the tune.

Celebrities John Challis, who played Boycie in Only Fools and Horses, and American singer Judy Pancoast visited the close for the big switch-on yesterday.



Magical: The display boasts penguins, polar bears, a ferris wheel and 400 metres of fake snow



Dashing through the snow: A horse and sleigh in the garden in Wells, Somerset. Mr Toole, 36, has spent £20,000 on illuminations since 1998



More than 1,000 people turned out for the switch-on,held in aid of the Make a Wish foundation, and were each given a mince pie from a local bakery. A team from Starbucks also handed out free drinks.

Mr Toole has spent a staggering 264 hours synching his lights to his radio station and the Father Christmas figure - as one minute of music takes eight hours to sequence.



The House on Christmas Street: Visitors flock to see the display, which will be on show from 1 December to 5 January



He returned home with just two sets of lights and put them on his mother's bungalow. The lights stopped working a few years later and he began stocking up on UK-made decorations.

His collection now includes a flashing ferris wheel, an illuminated waterfall, a 20ft Christmas tree, reindeer, penguins and polar bears.

A donation wishing well is left at the front of the display - which attracts up to 100 cars a night.

Mr Toole's radio station is broadcast from a transmitter a few hundred yards from his home between 5pm and 9.30pm from December 1 until January 5.



source: dailymail