Ammon News - Ray Liddell ordered a special Christmas surprise for his daughter, in the form of an inflatable Grinch, but got a huge surprise when he put it up outside his house.

When it comes to online shopping, we've all suffered a blunder or two due to not reading the product description carefully enough.

We recently saw how one woman thought she was getting a bargain new sofa, when she'd actually bought a piece of furniture meant for a child's doll house.

And now it seems one man has also made the opposite error with a Christmas decoration he ordered as a treat for his daughter.

Ray Liddell from Hartlepool, County Durham, purchased a large inflatable Grinch for his seven-year-old little girl Jasmine, but when it arrived he was a little shocked by the sheer size of it.

The Grinch, which cost £500, ended up being bigger than his house, standing at an impressive 35-feet.

Ray has put the eyebrow-raising inflatable in his front garden for all to see and says it has been drawing crowds in his area.

He said: "It's a total picture of positivity. People are coming from all over to have their photos taken.

"There was a queue on Sunday morning. I made sure everyone was socially distanced. I reckon we must have had over 5,000 people visit.

"It's been a real marvel so far."

He continued: "I only ordered it for my daughter as she loves Grinch. I was delighted with her reaction, let alone that of strangers.

"Jasmine was just screaming at it like crazy when it was all blown up."

Following the mass interest in the Christmas decoration, Ray has decided to take the opportunity to raise money for charity.

The parent has asked visitors who come to see the Grinch to donate cash and has so far raised more than £20,000.

All of the proceeds will be going to Alice House Hospice, where Jay's dad passed sadly away from Covid-19 earlier this year.

He wanted to do something to thank those who cared for his father at the very end.

Ray added: "He had a happy life because he had quite a simple life. You never saw him made angry or upset. He was a decent fellow.

"I had always wanted to do something for the hospice but never thought it would be something like this. I thought it would be something simple like a raffle.

"I wanted this to be ambitious but I was staggered at how much and how quickly these strangers were donating. It really has snowballed.


"It has been good in some many ways. My kids love the decoration and also it is providing a great way to raise money for this great charity."

*MIRROR