ACCOUNTANT Michaela Swadling-Stickler has hit her fundraising target of £20,000 in memory of her father, with a dazzling Christmas display at her Wiltshire home.

Ms Swadling-Stickler, 40, transformed her detached house and garden in Charlton, near Malmesbury, into a festive wonderland with more than 200,000 lights.

The aim was to raise £20,000 for Epilepsy Research UK, five years after her 56-year-old father, Kenneth Swadling, died as a result of the condition.

Hundreds of people visited the light show over the Christmas period. When she flicked the off switch on January 6, the total from donations was £20,425.

Ms Swadling-Stickler said: “Hitting the £20,000 mark was absolutely brilliant. People were very generous.”

Visitors paid to see the lights while sipping mulled wine and eating mince pies. Donations also came from companies after office visits.

The big display took Ms Swadling-Stickler and her brother, Gregory, 32, of Ewen, three months to prepare and three electricians worked full time for two days.

She said: “We received some lovely comments. People were amazed; they thought it was incredible.”

Ms Swadling-Stickler – who has a son, Malachai, nine – began raising money for Epilepsy Research UK in 2009, soon after her father died.

She said: “My dad always loved decorating the Christmas tree. He had his own particular way of doing it. Christmas lights always remind me of him.”

Her first display raised £765 via donations. In total, she has made more than £70,000 for the cause.

The charity’s chief executive, Leigh Slocombe, said: “Yet again an enormous ‘thank you’ is due to Michaela.”