Gutsy gran lights up again! (From Bury Times)

Gutsy gran lights up again!

4:05pm Friday 16th November 2007

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A GRANDMOTHER in Radcliffe who lost a battle with council officials to keep her Christmas lights has switched them on again.

But Elizabeth Sayers says she will not fight to keep them if Bury Council order her to take down the decorations.

Mrs Sayers covered the outside of her home in Unsworth Street with a range of decorations and lights, which she switched on during the festive season for four years.

But after a seven-month battle with the council, workmen pulled down the lights in January because they were deemed to be a health and safety risk.

Mrs Sayers vowed that the decorations would return and a friend volunteered to put them up free of charge.

On Saturday, she flicked the switch to illuminate her home, which overlooks Red Bank playing fields.

The 64-year-old said: "I know that I'm being stubborn, but I want my lights up. I needed to show the council that they can't beat me. A lot of people have already said how much they like them. Children in the area absolutely love the decorations. They think it's the start of Christmas in Radcliffe."

Mrs Sayers insists that all the lights are now safe, but she is still expecting to hear from Six Town Housing, which manages residential properties on behalf of the council. But she says she will not fight to keep the decorations this time.

Mrs Sayers, who is battling cancer, said: "I have no idea whether the council will be in touch about the lights. If they say they have to come down, then I will take them down. The cancer has spread and I don't have much fight left in me."

And people living nearby who enjoy looking at the lights and decorations are being urged to see them this year, before it is too late.

Mrs Sayers said: "A lot of the lights were broken when they were taken down, so I haven't got as many up as last year. This might be the last time I put them up because so many are broken."

A spokesman for Six Town Housing said that as Mrs Sayers has not sought permission to fit the lights safely, she has either breached her tenancy agreement or the display is dangerous.

He added: "Last year Mrs Sayer's display was a danger to both herself and the local residents and she agreed to seek permission to carry out and let us inspect any electrical work she does to accommodate any future installations. Regrettably it would seem that she has not done this.

"Mrs Sayer's property is a bungalow and most of the lights are at ground level and accessible to children. It is disappointing that she has done this out of stubbornness' as she puts it, as she could be causing not just a danger to local residents but also added cost to Six Town Housing.

"It cost Six Town Housing both money and man-hours to put right the damage caused last year. This is money that could have been spent in a more deserving way, making improvements to someone else's home.

"Last year we bore the cost of removal as Mrs Sayers said she was not physically able to remove the lights. Mrs Sayers has been informed that her lights must be removed at the end of the festive season, which is by January 6. If they are not removed Six Town Housing will take them down and charge her for the time it takes.

"We are not aware that we caused any damage to her lights, but we are aware of the damage she caused to our property, and hope she has not done so again this time around."

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