LAST Christmas admirers of the thousands of decorative lights set up on a Stokers Siding property were so impressed by the display they offered donations to owners David and Marilyn White for the cost of the electricity.

Mr White, who is retired and a well-known local singer, and his wife declined the donations.

But this year the couple has decided to put any offers to better use by turning their massive Christmas lights display into a fundraising event for the Murwillumbah branch of the Cancer and Leukaemia Foundation with funds going to research into the diseases.

Yesterday Mr White was about “eighty per cent” of the way through erecting 40,000 Christmas lights on his acreage property at Summerhill Close off Stokers Siding Road.

“Last year we had people offer 10 and 20 dollar notes for the electricity,” Mr White said.

The Whites first started putting up lights about six years ago in Sydney and after moving to their acreage at Stokers Sing found they had “considerably more area to cover”.

Mr White, who volunteers at community events throughout the Tweed, said he had started putting up Christmas lights when he first retired and had the time to do it.

Mr White estimates there would be about 40,000 lights in total after he started with about 2000 and spent over $15,000.