OVER £3,000 was raised by the residents of a road in Poole after their houses were lit up for Christmas.

Thanks to the thousands of people who visited Runton Road in Brank-some, three charities will benefit from almost 50 homes on the street which lit up their houses with fairy lights, fake snow, and singing Santas.

Diverse Abilities Plus and Forest Holme Hospice each received £1,090 and the Alzheimer’s Society was given £1,550.

Michael Philips, organiser, said: “Most of the houses on our road take part in putting up lights and Christmas displays, and this has been happening for the past 25 years or so.

He added: “But it was only about three or four years ago that we started collecting donations for charity.

“On Christmas Eve, we probably had about 2,000 people come to see the lights, so the police had to put out some cones and signs so that people didn’t stop on the sides of the roads, and had to walk up instead.

“Although it takes about eight hours to put the lights up, we will definitely do it again this year.”

The road has previously appeared on BBC’s The One Show, where live pictures of the lit-up houses were broadcast to around five million viewers.

Lisa Chick, from Smithers Respite Children’s Home run by Diverse Abilities Plus, said: “We are getting more and more children with complex needs coming to us, which means that we are very grateful for donations.

She added: “We are hoping that we can use the money to buy a new swing for the children, as our old one got broken and until now, we did not have the money to replace it.”

For more information about the Christmas lights visit Facebook.com/ RuntonRoadChristmas Lights