A North Cornwall man is decorating his bungalow in thousands of Christmas lights to help fund vital research into brain tumours.

Martin Langdon has spent weeks putting up more than 30,000 lights around his Wadebridge home in aid of Brain Tumour Research.

For more than three decades, the-68-year-old builder has raised thousands of pounds for charity by adorning his lawn and roof in festive scenes including penguins, snowmen, reindeer and new for this year, a giant holly leaf.

Martin who has a two-year-old grandson, said: “Once I’ve done the roof, everything else is a bit easier to put up. There’s about 25 pieces on top of the house. Each year I try to add new lights and this year I’ve some spiral trees and more penguins which brings the total to 18, I only started with two!”

This year Martin has dedicated his Christmas display to a close friend who just this week had a second operation following a brain tumour diagnosis.

In 2022, Martin’s niece’s husband, James Flint a part-time doctoral researcher and associate lecturer at the University of Plymouth, died of brain cancer five years after he was diagnosed. He was 36.

Martin also lost his 86-year-old mother, Joy, to the disease in 2013 just five months after she was diagnosed.

This is his fourth-year fundraising for Brain Tumour Research having raised almost £5,000.

Martin added: “I’ve been doing this since my children were just starting school and now, they’re grown up. I think it’s something I’ll always do, especially seeing the reaction of people who visit throughout the month.

“It was tough watching people in our family die because of brain tumours. My hope is that by doing this one thing of lighting up my house at Christmas, I can bring hope to patients and their families and some Christmas cheer.”

Brain tumours kill more men under 70 than prostate cancer, yet just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours since records began in 2002.

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure.

Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “We’re grateful that Martin has chosen to support Brain Tumour Research once again. We love to hear about the new lights he has and can’t wait to see them in action. It’s dreadfully sad that brain tumours have been prevalent in his family. We know that they are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age. We’re determined to change this and can only do that with people like Martin, dedicating time and effort to fundraising.”

To donate to Brain Tumour Research via Martin’s Christmas lights fundraiser, visit: akawzwdl.donorsupport.co/page/donate-now, using ‘Martin Langdon’ as the reference.