Jo has the last spooky laugh on Halloween after crowds turn up
COMPLAINT TO POLICE LED TO PUBLICITY - AND CROWDS OF WELL-WISHERS RAISING FUNDS
A couple who were asked to “tone down” their Halloween decorations by police after a complaint were amazed as people travelled from across the county to visit them at the weekend.
Jo Flower and her husband Rob transformed their Rothley home into a haunted house as part of an annual tradition, but were perplexed when police turned up on their doorstep asking them to take parts of it down.
As well as being a bit of fun for visitors, this year the decorations were part of the couple’s fundraising efforts for Cancer Research.
After the original story was published and it was shared far and wide, the couple were delighted to find flurries of families gathering to see their house on the Sunday of Halloween.
“It has just gone mad!” Jo said. “We had to go to the shop twice to fill up on sweets.”
The 37-year-old added: “People were coming from the other side of Leicestershire and not just to see it but to come and talk to us about what we were doing, which was lovely.”
The couple have now received more than £600 in online and offline donations, surpassing their initial £200 goal.
“So really, the person who made the complaint has actually helped us to get more donations,” said Jo. She decided to turn the tradition into a fund-raising opportunity after losing her mum to cancer in 2018.
She also underwent surgery last month after being told by doctors that she had precancerous cells.
Now looking forward to Christmas, Jo and Rob plan to decorate once again for the festive season, hoping to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support charity.
Jo will join others in the village decorating their homes as part of the Rothley Holiday Trail, a community initiative that was set up by a neighbour, Antonia Follows, who came up with the idea during the first national lockdown as a way for children to enjoy all of the locally-celebrated holidays and festivals.
Later this year a map will be created with all of the decorated homes this Christmas for people to follow as part of the village trail.
■ You can still donate to Jo and Robert’s fund-raiser for Cancer Research at: fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/flower-family-fundraising
The person who made the complaint has actually helped us to get more donations
Jo Flower