Couple's Platinum Jubilee tribute to the Queen
Lesley and Pat Richardson with the Platinum Jubilee display outside their home in Hunstanton - Credit: Chris Bishop
A couple have adorned their home with a Platinum Jubilee tribute to the Queen.
Retired farmer Pat Richardson and his wife Lesley have decorated the front wall of their bungalow in Hunstanton with a crown, carved swans and Union Flag to celebrate the monarch's seven decades on the throne.
Trailing flowers in red, white and blue will complete the display in time for the jubilee celebrations in June.
Mr Richardson, 72, and his 71-year-old wife took around three days to complete the carving.
The years spanning the Queen's 70-year reign are fashioned from plywood swans.
Pat Richardson with the crown which forms part of the Platinum Jubilee tribute to the Queen in his front garden at Hunstanton - Credit: Chris Bishop
"We wanted to do something for the Queen that was a bit of fun," said Mr Richardson, who farmed near Downham Market before moving to Hunstanton 15 years ago.
The display sits on the junction of Sandringham Road with the main A149 coast road, as you enter the resort.
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"We've had hundreds of comments on Facebook," said Mr Richardson. "We had a chap stop this morning and say he loved it, he thought it was brilliant, fantastic."
Mrs Richardson said: "We've been to see the Queen at Sandringham nearly every year when she comes.
"But with the lockdown we had to have something to do."
Lockdown has brought a temporary halt to an event in which Mr Richardson has become well-known in his adopted town - the Hunstanton Soapbox Derby.
Pat Richardson (rear) at the launch of the 2019 Searke's Soapbox Derby with the cart in which he won the 2018 veteran's event and grandson Oliver Richardson, Andrew Searle and Elizabeth Nockolds - Credit: Sonya Duncan
He has been a runaway winner of the veteran's race for a number of years, speeding through the crowds in his home-made go-karts.
"I suppose my days of doing that are over now," he said - adding he had recycled the aluminium body of one of his winning carts to make the crown.
The couple have also become well-known for their floral displays, which delight visitors along their wall each summer.
"People do comment on our flowers every year," said Mr Richardson, who has ordered surfinias to complete this year's Royal display.
