When Lulu Brockall hangs up the Christmas lights and decorations she is not only getting into the festive spirit but remembering family members she has lost.

The 49-year-old is the envy of her neighbours when she covers almost every inch of her home Aldbarton Road in Barton, Oxford, with sparkling lights and Christmas decorations.

She first decided to deck her house with festive fun nine years ago to help get through the Christmas period after her brother Chris Odley died suddenly from a brain tumour when he was just 27.

A few years later, her father died following a heart attack and ever since, a collection box has been held outside the house for people who enjoy the light show to donate money to good causes.

The money from the collection box will be donated this time to Make-A-Wish Foundation, which aims to make dreams come true for children suffering severe or terminal illness.

Mrs Brockall's partner Nigel Rogers, 37, who is a roofer, puts the lights up every year. She said: "When my brother died, Christmas was a bit bland after that and I wondered how I was going to get through it all.

"So I put up the lights so that when people came past they would smile and Christmas would be a little bit brighter for everyone.

"I've got children of my own, but when I lost my brother it ripped the heart from everything I had.

"I like to think the reindeer on the house is like my brother running free wherever he is. I love it all so much you can go out and smile and relax and can help you get through Christmas.

"I am going to carry on every year. What is nice is that some of the ones we haven't been able to put up the neighbours have asked for, so the whole street is lit."

Mrs Brockall added that there were so many decorations, it was almost impossible to count them. But they include an aeroplane, a 50m rope light, two large reindeer, two trains, a push bike, stars, a man raising his hat, a giant snowflake, two men skiing, a set of icicles and a firework light shipped in from China.

Chris Odley, a father of two, died nine years ago, three months after doctors discovered he had a brain tumour. His father, Donald , 69, died after suffering a heart attack in 2002.

So far this year, the collection has raised £30.

Mrs Brockall said: "A lot of people have lost somebody and this collection goes to help them.

"If it can help just one person it's worth doing something just for that."