A Covingham family has wowed the public with its extensive and impressive Christmas lights display.

While some people might start getting ready for Christmas as early as November, the Scrivers have taken it to the next level.

Paul, Lou and daughter Jorja, 11, have been working on their display at Mallard Close for whole year - and it isn’t just limited to the traditional Christmas lights.

Pressing a red button sets off a music track and a multitude of lights choreographed to change with the song. The ‘mouth’ of a snowman head and a lightbulb have been cleverly programmed to appear as if they are ‘singing’ the song.

A big screen which shows moving animations is so realistic it looks like a TV; but Paul revealed it’s made up of thousands of tiny LEDs. Visitors pressing the button can watch a sequence from one of 45 songs. Each song took Paul eight hours to complete.

He said: “Most of it is DIY because I enjoy messing around with lights. I worked in a drama club doing the lighting but most of this was self-taught with help from the European Lighting Fanatic group. The neighbours love it and they’ve been very kind and said if we need more room to let them know.”

But this is more than a passion project for the Scriver family. They have already raised £525 for Swindon and Gloucestershire Mind from donations. The cause is personal because one of Paul’s work colleagues took his own life earlier this year. “I got really friendly with him because both of our daughters have special needs so he was really good to chat to.

“He understood what it’s like to live with a child with additional needs and to share the ups and downs with.I miss him and it was a shock to everybody as he seemed so happy. We wanted to do something to help someone else who might be suffering from mental health problems.”

Alongside the donation box, children can guess the number of pixels to be in with the chance of winning one of nine prizes, ranging from tickets to Farmers Gows to Empire Cinema.

Lou added: “This set-up is definitely not something you can go and buy down B&Q. It’s kept us entertained during lockdown so we will be adding to it next year.

“We’ve had so many reviews on our pages and people sending us private messages so I hope everyone can come and enjoy the show.”

The display runs every day from 4.30-9.30pm until New Year’s Eve. Visit PLJ Christmas light show on JustGiving.