Oz All Lit Up With Christmas Tree Lights Record

The record for the most lights on an artificial Christmas tree has been smashed in Australia with more than half a million illuminated bulbs.

There were cheers from the crowd in the capital Canberra as the Guinness World Records representative confirmed the attempt had been successful.

The 22m (73ft) tree with a total of 518,838 twinkling lights took the title that had been held by a 36m (118ft) tree in Japan with 374,280 bulbs.

David Richards, a lawyer and businessman, organised the dazzling display by bringing together a host of volunteers, including an electrical engineer, welders and carpenters.

The tree was topped with a 1.5m (5ft) star filled with 12,000 bulbs.

Mr Richards said: "Tonight went better than my expectations, I was a little nervous, we weren't sure whether we would get the record.

"Guinness World Records flew in just to adjudicate our record tonight, everything went according to plan and I was so relieved when the lights went on and the Guinness World Record representative said we have the new world record."

He created the display to raise money for Canberra's Sudden Infant Death Syndrome charity, SIDS and Kids, after losing one of his own children to the illness.