One Southampton family has its eye on the prize for the Daily Echo’s festive battle of the bulbs.

Jo and Darren Lane from Sparsholt Road have been hard at work turning their garden into a winter wonderland.

The couple, who has four youngsters of their own and look after foster children, says the display is for the kids.

Jo said: “I do this every year and try to make it really festive for them.

“It’s looking great and they really love it.”

This year’s Festive Homes competition is supported by the Electrical Safety Council and our first entrants certainly know a lot about avoiding nasty shocks.

Darren, 36, is an electrician and has made sure his display is as safe as it is sparkly.

He said: “I make sure everything’s watertight, the cables are set up properly and everything’s RCD protected.

“You hear things on the news about people’s houses burning down because they’ve got carried away with the Christmas lights.

“Unfortunately, a lot of people think if it works, it’s safe. But you’ve got to have a bit of common sense.”

With 1.2 million people injured by electrical accidents every year in Britain, the Electrical Safety Council says the simplest way to protect yourself is to make sure you have a RCD (residual current device) installed in your fusebox or use plug-in RCDs.

The safety devices are designed to prevent electric shocks by breaking the circuit when someone touches something live, such as a bare wire.

Daily Echo: Panasonic digital camera

Along with a Panasonic digital camera (pictured) worth £99, the Electrical Safety Council will provide RCD plug-in devices for the winning home.

To enter a display into the competition call Bethan Phillips on 023 8042 4485 or email a picture to bethan.phillips@dailyecho.co.uk by Friday, December 17.