Couple's spooktacular event aims to raise thousands

3 hours ago

Aimee DexterCambridgeshire

Rob Sheehan and Liam Collis' house has been decked out for Halloween

Rob Sheehan A house and garden are decked out with Halloween decorations, including a large inflatable pumpkin and several skeletons. — Rob Sheehan and Liam Collis' house has been decked out for Halloween

The couple behind a homemade Halloween extravaganza featuring an inflatable scare maze, a graveyard and skeletons is hoping the display will raise £15,000 for charity.

Rob Sheehan and Liam Collis have spent the last seven years decorating their Chippenham home at Halloween and Christmas to raise money for local cancer charities.

It has grown into a big fundraising event, with their goal for this year to raise funds for the Cambridge Cancer Help Centre.

Sheehan said what started as a bit of fun at Halloween soon picked up, adding: "We thought we may as well ask for donations and this attracted a larger crowd and now attracts thousands of visitors each year."

Liam Collis and Rob Sheehan have lived in the village for seven years

Rob Sheehan Liam Collis and Rob Sheehan are standing side-by-side. Collis, on the left, has short brown hair and is wearing a green polo shirt. Sheehan is on the right and has short blond hair and is wearing a burgundy shirt. They are both smiling. — Liam Collis and Rob Sheehan have lived in the village for seven years

Sheehan, who is a window cleaner, said while a lot of the props were store bought most of the animatronics, including a large spider, they made themselves.

The 42-year-old said: "We start building new stuff around February to March, which occupies all of our weekends in the run up to Halloween."

The pair have opened their doors across eight days for people to visit, free of charge, this year.

Volunteers have joined the duo in bringing the event to life by participating as live actors.

Hundreds of people have visited the event in Chippenham

Rob Sheehan A large queue of people is leading towards a barn. There are strings of fairy lights hung around the garden where people are standing. — Hundreds of people have visited the event in Chippenham

A graveyard was one of the features this year

Rob Sheehan A fake graveyard is lit up by a pink light. There are several fake gravestones and skeletal hands coming out of the ground. — A graveyard was one of the features this year

Last year, their Halloween and Christmas extravaganzas raised £13,500 for a different charity.

"It feels spooktacular raising the amount we do," Sheehan added.

He said it was good to raise money for the local charities who also attend the events.

As of Friday morning, the event had raised more than £8,700 with two more events taking place over the weekend. Sheehan said £2078.53 was raised on Thursday alone.