Man, 21, arrested after Morecambe family's Christmas display is vandalised

A man has been arrested by police after £2,000 worth of damage was caused to a Morecambe family's Christmas garden ornaments.
Christmas house in Morecambe. Photo: Kelvin StuttardChristmas house in Morecambe. Photo: Kelvin Stuttard
Christmas house in Morecambe. Photo: Kelvin Stuttard

CCTV footage shows a mindless vandal slashing festive inflatables with a knife and destroying the display, which was put up by Denver Peel and his wife Kirsty to entertain their two children and local residents.

A 21-year-old from Lancaster was arrested by police in connection with the incident this afternoon, Wednesday, and is awaiting interview.

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Denver said the family had spent around £3,000 on inflatables and other decorations to adorn the front garden of their home in Morecambe Road.

He said dozens of children and motorists had been stopping to admire the festive scene and take photographs.

But early on Monday morning, a vandal caused around £2,000 worth of damage to the display by attacking the inflatables and wiring with a knife.

The vandalism took place at around 1am while Denver, Kirsty and their children, three-year-old Dougie and four-year-old Brooklyn, were all in bed.

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“Kirsty went outside at about 7am and saw what had happened,” Denver said. “We didn’t hear anything but it’s not nice to think someone has been in your garden in the middle of the night with a knife. The kids were gutted when they saw what had been done.”

Several large inflatables have been destroyed, as well as laser beams being damaged.

Denver and wife Kirsty had spent around five days putting the display in place.

“It’s not just for our children,” he said. “We have had a lot of children coming over and taking pictures, and drivers have been stopping as well to have a look.

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“We did it last year as well but this year we got more excited about it because we saw so many people stopping to take photos, so we put up more than before and were still adding to it.”

A crowdfunding page has been set up to help replace the decorations.