THIEVES have tried to spoil the festive cheer broought by a Horbury couple who every year help light up the town.
There are more than 60,000 Christmas lights all over the house, garage and front garden of Bob and Margaret Cook's home on North Avenue, Horbury.
But thieves tried to wreck the couple's Christmas when they almost got away with £200 worth of lights i
n the shape of a penny farthing bicycle and a tandem bicycle.
Mr Cook, 58, and his son Stefan, 24, were woken at 12.45am by the two thieves on the garage roof, believed to be aged between 26 and 30.
"After waking us up, Stefan chased after them," said Mr Cook.
"He caught up with them and apprehended one of the men in a field. He managed to get the penny farthing lights back off him.
"The tandem bike lights were later found on California Drive.
"The lights had been on top of our garage, but they cut the cable, damaging the board they were on, and broke the feet off the figures, so now we've had to make new feet to make them stand up again.
"The damage caused is not a lot, it's the inconvenience caused by people going round stealing lights that's so annoying – it really is the lowest of the low."
Mr Cook added: "Two years ago we had a large Santa stolen which we never got back.
"This time we've had two sets of lights stolen, each of which cost £100 when we bought them last year."
Mr Cook said they had decorated the house and garden for the last four years, and have added more lights this year.
"We do it for the kids nearby to come and look at and enjoy," he said.
"Over the years we've had many people come down and say how nice it looks, and I think doing something like this helps put Horbury on the map."
Stefan Cook said it was "disgusting" that people would steal Christmas lights.
"What's the point of making all this effort if people are just going to do that?" he said.
"It's absolutely fantastic what my mum and dad do every year, and to have this happen to them is just disgusting."
