The annual Oak Road Christmas lights will return this year with big crowds set to watch the switch on.

Despite slight delays due to Storm Bert, the two neighbouring houses in Okehampton will light up the street on Sunday, December, 8 at 5pm and will be collecting donations for two different charities.

Run by the Gliddon and Robb families, the charities were selected out of a draw of nominations from Okehampton locals. This year the charities are Made-Well and Force Cancer Charity.

Tricia Gliddon, one of the organisers and homeowners, said: “I do it for the young and the old, it’s amazing to see everyone’s reactions and their faces light up. So despite all the work putting it up, it's always worth it in the end.

“We’ve had people come up from Cornwall to make a day of it and see the lights. My favourite visit was from a couple of years ago when a lady brought her 87-year-old mother up to see the display. It was the best thing seeing her reaction and the look of amazement on her face.”

The LED light display will stay lit from 5pm-9pm every night until Thursday, January 2 with a donation box for the two charities at the front of the display.

The two houses have managed to raise around £10,000 for various charities since they started in 2018.

Last year the organisers took a well-deserved break from the lights but are excited to return again this year.

Tricia continued: “I’m really looking forward to this year because it’ll be my granddaughter’s first time seeing it. The whole event has just taken off, it just gets bigger and bigger every year. We’re lucky that families and visitors are so respectful of the lights, so far we haven’t experienced any vandalism which is great.”