A CHRISTIAN website based in the region has called for inflatable Santas and flashing Rudolphs to be left in the loft this year.

In an appeal for a more tasteful Christmas, the editor of thegoodnews.co.uk has called on households to do away with the "rows of synchronised lights and cringe-inducing plastic sculptures".

Howard Dobson runs the website from his home in Newton-le-Willows, near Bedale, North Yorkshire.

He said: "In the UK, we've got to the stage where Christmas decorations turn the country into the Blackpool illuminations from hell.

"These decorations don't say peace and goodwill, they say it's Supermarket Sweep with Dale Winton."

Mr Dobson urges people to follow the lead of Italian cities such as Rome and Venice, where the spirit of Christmas is celebrated with tasteful nativity scenes and displays of subtle lighting.

"Christmas in the UK seems to be about endless repeats of Only Fools and Horses and drinking too much at office parties," said Mr Dobson.

"And that's after we've shopped till we've dropped to the sound of Slade and Shakin' Stevens."

In an effort to make the UK a more tasteful place this Christmas, the website has devised suggestions which include:

* Go to a Christmas church service to spend an hour focusing on the true meaning of Christmas;

* Have a passionate kiss with your own husband, wife or partner under the mistletoe - not with someone else's;

* Put time aside for the family, perhaps with games and activities;

* Do something to help someone in need via a charitable donation;

* Cast out your Christmas decoration demons by taking a leaf out of Rome and Venice's book with delicate lights and biblical scenes - not gaudy displays of illuminated Santas and houses covered with lights.