A cash-strapped village which couldn’t afford Christmas decorations now has a massive tree and lights – thanks to fundraising by a local 13-year-old.
Young Alfie Wills was sad his community didn’t have any trimmings so he took it upon himself to bring some festive cheer.
He organised a cake sale, a ‘bring and buy’, and other charitable events and managed to raise over £1,000 for the village of Barripper, near Camborne, Cornwall.
Now the small village will have a 14ft Christmas tree, 130 metres of lights and an extra set of lights to replace the broken ones at the local church, all thanks to Alfie.
He said: “I wanted our village to stand out, it needed Christmas lights so I thought I’d see how much I could raise and can add to them each year.”
Now the town is all set for Christmas, and the lights are due to be switched on this Friday.
Step dad Tony Wilson said: “Alfie’s held quite a few events including a bring and buy sale and cake bake. He’s quite a shy lad so to do all that is very commendable.
“There were no village lights, just some in front of the chapel, but they were broken. He’s taken it all on and been able to buy the Christmas tree too.
“The village has got behind Alfie and supported him really well. He’s now hoping to raise more money and add to the lights as he goes.”