People who travel along a road in St Albans will have noticed an impressive Christmas light display coming from one of the houses.

Denise Mansell has continued a 15 year tradition of covering her Beech Road house and front driveway in lights, including a nativity scene imported from America and reindeer on the roof.

She said: "It just started with a couple of lights and then it got bigger. Nobody would want my electricity bill, let's put it that way. It costs a few hundred pounds to run."

The display has resulted in between two and three thousand pounds being deposited in a collection box outside the property for Marie Curie Cancer Research each year.

The charity was chosen after Mrs Mansell’s husband, Paul, suffered with tongue and lymphatic cancer.

Mrs Mansell said: "I must have given nearly £30,000 over the last ten years; it has funded a part-time cancer specialist nurse at Mount Vernon Hospital.

"I started collecting because people kept knocking on my door and asking if I was collecting for charity."

The display has attracted the attention of passing motorists, many of whom stop and exit their vehicles to get a better look and is particularly popular with local children.

Concerns have been raised that this has led to dangerous traffic conditions and an inconvenient situation for local residents who become trapped in their driveways.

Susan Wilson, 65, of Beech Road, said: "Sometimes it’s quite dangerous, people slow down to look at it and then speed up, other motorists think they are stopping and they don’t. There have been a few near misses and a few knocks because of people trying to overtake.

"It’s also hard to get out of the driveway because of the traffic that builds up. Personally I think it’s horrendous but the children seem to like it. It’s only for a few weeks so I shouldn’t be so grumpy really."

Mrs Mansell’s lights are on until the weekend after Christmas Day and are turned off at 11pm, but on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day they stay on until midnight.