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Pub hangs 6,000 baubles to fund life-saving gear

Danny Fullbrook/BBC The ceiling of a pub decorated with hundreds of baubles. It also is decorated with old open suitcases and a guitar.Danny Fullbrook/BBC
The pub has been decorated in this way for 10 years, with the number of baubles steadily increasing

A landlady has decorated her pub ceiling with 6,000 baubles to fundraise for a community defibrillator.

Niki Hackett, 56, has covered the ceiling of The Oddfellows Arms in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, with festive decorations for the past 10 years, with her display growing year-on-year.

On New Year's Day she said people could pay £1 to remove a bauble, write a message on a paper heart and hang it in place of the ornament.

She said she was inspired after losing a "few regulars" this year, adding it was "really important we keep the heart of the pub in the community".

Danny Fullbrook/BBC The ceiling of the pub is decorated with hundreds of baubles. It also is decorated with old open suitcases and a guitar.Danny Fullbrook/BBC
When the baubles come down in the new year, people can pay £1 to replace them with a handwritten message on a paper heart

The landlady said people in the pub told her they had travelled by train to see the spectacle.

"It's nice to see people bring their kids in... everybody comes in to see if I got them - I just love Christmas," she said.

It took three weeks for her and the pub staff to put the ornaments up.

"I still have 600 left in the pizza shed," she said.

Justin Dealey/BBC Niki Hackett is dressed in a blue glittery cardigan and a silver glittery top. She is stood behind the bar with a younger member of staff dressed in black and wearing a Christmas themed headband.Justin Dealey/BBC
Niki Hackett said it took three weeks for her and her staff to hang the baubles

On Christmas Day, Ms Hackett is taking some of her customers, who are on their own or recently widowed, out for Christmas lunch.

She said: "There's 15 of us - we've lost a few of our regular customers this year, so it's a bit sad, but it's really nice for the community and pub to come together.

"When I became a landlady I was 22. I'm 56 now. One guy has stuck with me all these years and he's on his own - I had to do something.

"It's really important we keep the heart of the pub in the community."

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