CHRISTMAS has come early for one family, who started setting out their decorations a week before Halloween.

The Priddles, from Darlington, decked their home with tinsel, lights, novelty reindeer and life-sized Santas as an early gift for daughter Sue, who will spend Christmas recovering from a serious operation.

The family, of Lowmoor Road, Firthmoor, make a huge festive effort every year, but started the celebrations early so 43-year-old Sue, who is due to have two tumours removed from her throat later this month, could take part.

Her father, Roger, 64, said: "We would normally start at the end of November, but this year, we did it early.

"My daughter and I always hang up the decorations together, but this year she is going into hospital. We do not know when she will be fit again, so we thought we would get it all done early."

Since late last month, the house has been aglow with luminous snowmen, a novelty train, icicles, reindeer, bells, and umpteen Santas.

Mr Priddle said the family always made an effort because of a traumatic Christmas he experienced as a child. He said: "We always make a big deal of it because, when I was young, my father had a stroke on Christmas Eve. I always said I would make sure my children would always enjoy Christmas, no matter what. I even used to dress up as Father Christmas.

"It takes us about a month to hang all the decorations. We have been collecting this stuff for years. Some of it is more than 40 years old. We end up using about £600 worth of batteries."

Sue said: "We have a big family, and Christmas has always been a time when all the family gets together.

I love getting involved, but I do not know if I will be well enough to get up and down ladders to help hang the decorations.

"No matter how hard things have been during the year, everything is always fantastic on Christmas Day at our house. We were really lucky and I wouldn't have changed anything."