Wellingborough 'Christmas' house lights up to thank key workers during the Covid-19 lockdown

A family home that is lit up like a Christmas tree every year for charity, has been decorated to show the owners' appreciation for key workers and their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.

Alan and Nicola Beetson's Torrington Road home is usually bedecked in thousands of lights for the festive season by son Karl and is known locally as 'The Christmas House'.

Packed away at the start of the year, Alan decided he wanted to enhance the Clap for our Carers Thursday night experience by putting the Christmas light displays to different use.

Nicola said: "It was Alan's idea. He wanted to brighten-up the street and support the Clap for our Carers on the Thursday night.

"There are several people on our street who are key workers and we wanted to show our support. One neighbour works in a care home and Alan is a key worker.

"People have been saying on Facebook that it's really cheered them up and that they love the 'Christmas' house."

With son Karl, the Christmas lights mastermind, now living in Thrapston, Alan and Nicola had to learn how to put on the light show by themselves.

With careful instructions over the phone, Alan managed to assemble the projector and house-high LED light panel displaying the family's messages of gratitude to NHS and other key workers.

The lights scroll the message 'Thank you NHS' in blue lettering on a huge computer operated panel.

For the past seven years, Nicola has been living with Stage 4 breast cancer which has spread to her bones and is currently receiving palliative care for her illness.

The whole family have been doing their bit to help with son Karl making face masks on his home 3D printer for Kettering General Hospital where his partner is an ICU nurse.

Nicola especially wants to show her support for those working in care homes as they nursed her father-in-law Maurice who died on Easter Monday during lockdown. She has also been unable to visit her uncle David who lives in a Kettering care home.

Nicola said: "I'm that passionate about the work that they do. They work 12-hour shifts, all on the minimum wage. We need to support the carers.

"I'm still trying to keep going. I've had a lot to thank the NHS for. There's a lot of people who have done more but the lights keep peoples' morale going."

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