QUIRKY WORLD ... Bah humbug as neighbours fail to enjoy the festive glow
In December, they transform their home in Plantation, Florida, into a 200,000-light spectacle, with Santas, reindeer and candy canes blanketing the lawn, snowflakes and angels twinkling in the sky, and a sign over the garage beckoning visitors to ‘Believe in the Magic of Christmas.’
The reaction of some neighbours and their city? Bah humbug!
“This is a war zone, all because of the ego of that guy,” said neighbour Rafael Imbert, 65, who erects a plastic construction fence to keep the thousands of sightseers lured by the lights off his lawn.
The city of Plantation, about 55km north of Miami, is seeking to shut down the Hyatts’ display that it deems a public nuisance. However, the couple is refusing to back down.
“They believe it engenders goodwill and a bond between the community,” said their Fort Lauderdale-based lawyer, James Helf.
And the Hyatts are not alone in annoying their neighbours, In Ohio, a man has disregarded his critics by again erecting a nativity scene on his lawn portraying Jesus, Mary and Joseph as zombies.
A Maine homeowner used lights to spell out ISIS, prompting calls to police last week that the person might be a sympathiser of the Islamic State militant group. As it turned out, the display included a Santa appearing to urinate on the letters with a stream of white lights, local media reported.
Weapons dealer
A firearms dealer found guilty of helping a parish council chairman amass the biggest hoard of illegal weapons ever uncovered in the UK has been warned he faces a lengthy jail term.
Police found more than 400 firearms in the home of James Arnold, 49, in Suffolk, as part of checks on his firearms licence in April last year.
The haul gradually came to light as officers spent six weeks searching his home, carrying out controlled explosions and discovering a secret room hidden behind a false wall in his kitchen.
Arnold, chairman of Wyverstone Parish Council, was due to face a string of firearms charges, including possessing an Uzi sub-machine gun and an AK-47 assault rifle, but died of cancer in July last year.
Anthony Buckland, 65, from, Norfolk, was found guilty of 11 counts of selling a prohibited weapon on Friday. He was released on bail until a sentencing hearing on January 9.
No explanation as to why Arnold collected the weapons was offered to the court during the trial.
Prosecutor Andrew Oliver told Norwich Crown Court the discovery was the “biggest stash of weapons this country had experienced”.
Super store
Tesco has built a 10,000 sq ft store in just one week to help customers affected by the floods.
The store in the Carlisle area was constructed as a temporary replacement for its superstore in Warwick Road which was badly affected by the effects of Storm Desmond earlier this month.
Staff had to be evacuated as flood waters encroached on the car park and eventually reached waist high inside.
Sleep ban
The Royal Navy discharged five sailors last year for sleepwalking, it has been disclosed.
Anyone suffering from the disorder is also barred from joining the senior service, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request also showed.
The Armed Forces’ medical rules are being updated to make the entry bar official and also to disqualify those who suffer from “sleep terrors”, the Ministry of Defence’s Navy Command Secretariat said.
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