Is this the most Christmassy cul-de-sac in the county?

Eastern Daily Press: Residents from Paget Adams Drive in Dereham have decorated their street ready for Christmas. Picture: Matthew Usher.Residents from Paget Adams Drive in Dereham have decorated their street ready for Christmas. Picture: Matthew Usher. (Image: © ARCHANT NORFOLK 2015)

By day it is a quiet residential street in Dereham but at night the homes and gardens on Paget Adams Drive come alive.

Penguins huddle under an archway and a Northern Lights effect illuminates a garden while across the road brightly lit reindeer appear to be grazing amid the starry trees.

The residents of this unassuming corner of town have proved once again that they have Christmas spirit in spades having turned on their Christmas lights display.

While many streets have a few houses that embrace outdoor lighting themes in the festive period, almost every house in Paget Adams Drive is lit up either in the garden, on the property, or both.

Eastern Daily Press: Residents from Paget Adams Drive in Dereham have decorated their street ready for Christmas. Picture: Matthew Usher.Residents from Paget Adams Drive in Dereham have decorated their street ready for Christmas. Picture: Matthew Usher. (Image: © ARCHANT NORFOLK 2015)

And it is getting such a name for its display that people are driving to the quiet cul-de-sac near the football club just to have a look.

Comments on social media range from 'amazing' to 'just beautiful' and 'you should all be so proud of yourselves' from those who have already been to see the lighting spectacle.

And to further cement the feeling of community spirit the display brings the close is holding its annual carol service on Monday, December 21 at 6.30pm.

Organised by the residents the event is an informal gathering to sing festive carols and enjoy a mince pie - and the stunning lights.

At the end there will be a collection for the Salvation Army whose band will play on the night.

Matthew Peek, a resident of Paget Adams Drive and a cornet player with the band, said it brought a bit of Christmas cheer to the area.

'It is just half an hour of carols and music and people come along and enjoy it,' he said. 'Some years we have had three or four hundred turn up. It's nothing fancy but they all seem to go home happy. It is just beautifully understated and I think that is why it works.'

He said all the residents enjoyed pulling together to create the displays and all agreed when to switch them on. This year it was December 1.

'We all do our bit and it comes together very nicely,' he said. 'There is no pressure on households to join in but it is a lovely bit of old-fashioned fun in Dereham. It is something for the community. It is a lovely place to live and long may it continue.'

* All are welcome to the carol service and are advised that they attend at their own risk.