Teen creates own Christmas lights display because he thought his town’s was dull

By Ed Cullinane via SWNS

A teenager who decided his town's Christmas lights were too dull has spent the last YEAR creating his own display.

Annoyed with the "dark and boring" decorations in Sutton, Saman Zand, 17, took it upon himself to bring some festive cheer.

Starting in January, he bought old lights using his own money and refurbished them before stringing them up with the help of volunteers.

He also managed to rope in the company behind some of London's most famous lights to design the display - who offered to help after being wowed by Saman's business pitch.

Sparkling Christmas lights now course through the south London town - which impressed local councillors so much they have covered the student's expenses.

And he's already thinking ahead to 2022 - having launched a design competition for local primary school kids.

"I was born and raised in Sutton, and have lived here all my life," Saman said.

"It took an incredible amount of fighting to put my lights up, especially as a 17-year-old. I just didn't know who to approach or who to talk to about it.

"Eventually I got the approval of the mayor of Sutton, who essentially pushed my project and secured some funding from the local committee budget.

"I've had so much support from the local councillors who helped me so much, and I'm so grateful for that help."

Saman ran a small business refurbishing Christmas lights taken from various town centers into decorations for people's homes in 2018 - at the age of just 14.

He then sold them via eBay after adding a new spark to the lights, generating a profit and building contacts with the local towns he would need for the 2021 project.

This year, Saman was aided by a team of volunteers, his friends and a company he contracted at a heavily reduced rate.

He secured the discount after turning what should have been a 30-minute fitting consultation into a four-hour coffee meeting where he explained why he was doing the project.

Display company James Glancy - the same designers who set up the lights on Carnaby Street and Regent Street London this year - were so impressed by Saman's plans that they offered to help him out.

Top designers then generated an artistic impression for the fitting - leaving Saman and his team managed to build the impressive display.

"We became a very close-knit team fighting to light up Sutton, and put Christmas lights in new areas," he said.

"When you're designing a lights system that needs to be tested, and has to be structurally sound to span a street, as well as get exposed to the weather you need lots of experienced people to get it all to work.

"It's a project that's lasted my whole life in terms of research but practically for this year's lights I've been doing this since January time.

Saman said it was his personal experience of the lights in Sutton as a youngster - which he enjoyed - which prompted his decision.

"I thought we had had horrible Christmas lights in the last I've years compared to what we had when I was a kid," he said.

"The town square has traditionally been unlit and is quite a dark, boring area. There used to be a bandstand there but nothing happens there anymore.

"It was such a great potential location, but so underused. We'd had a lot of crime issues there and it seemed like the perfect place to get started.

"Since we put up the lights we've got great feedback from the council and local businesses.

"Illegal activities have also seemed to stop or be less common now it's a lot brighter, so I think it's been a win-win.

"I've kept a low profile about my part in the project, but obviously a few people at school caught onto the fact I was doing it so most people there know about it.

"Most of my classmates aren't too bothered about it, one because they don't really care and two because it's not exactly the most exciting or cool thing to do.

"But some of my friends who say it's cool that I got it all done but I don't think anyone knows about the amount of effort that goes into a project like this.

Saman says the funding he received from his local council, which covered his expenses for the project that he paid out of his own savings, was a huge part of its success.

He also thanked the Mayor of Sutton, Cllr Trish Fivey, for her support with the

And, hoping to inspire the community to take part next year, Saman has already set up a competition at the local primary school to design next year's display.

Sutton Council has been approached for comment.