An annual Christmas-lights display put up on a house in Croxley Green has raised more money than ever.

Every year Dave Edwards and his wife decorate their Lancing Way home, known locally as “the Christmas house”, with lights and festive displays.

Christmas 2011 marked the 33rd year that the couple have put up the lights, and since 1978 Mr Edwards has raised more than £30,000 for different charities.

An article in The Watford Observer which highlighted the financial difficulties the Peace Hospice are currently facing made the charity Mr Edwards' first choice for this year's collection.

The other half of the £3,425 raised this year, a record amount, will go to charity, POD, which provides entertainment for children in hospital.

Mr Edwards said: “It's absolutely marvellous, the most we've ever raised. The weather has been good so that's helped us, and I think the choice of charities helped too.

“We've had people from Stevenage, Ware and Hertford coming to see the lights.”

This year's charity work was marred by an attempted theft of the metal collection box outside Mr Edwards' home.

He said: “We hear a noise at about 3.20am and opened the curtains and they scarpered. I think they were trying to get the box off the post.

“It's held on with six four-inch bolts, so they didn't have a hope of getting it off, but they did break the welds off the top.

“It's like a safe so I'm very surprised they managed to break the welds. We had it fixed and it's now three times stronger than before.”

Former Watford FC footballer Ian Bolton flipped the big switch at the annual turning on of the lights, which attracts crowds of about 400 people.

The grandfather-of-two added: “We do it every year and I will keep doing it as long as I can climb up a ladder and put the decorations up.”