A show that draws in crowds throughout the year for various light displays fell victim to a theft yesterday evening.

Lighting Up Allington is run by John Walker and Stevie Adams, a couple that puts on shows to dazzle the public at their home in Castle Road.

The couple did their first light show last year for Christmas, raising money for Heart of Kent Hospice in honour of Mr Walker's godmother, Barbara Burt, who spent time at the hospice towards the end of her life.

Following the success of the Christmas show, which raised more than £1,300 for the hospice, they decided to run a Halloween themed show as well.

It ran frequently last night, with at least 20 people watching each show, and the final run-through was at 8.30pm.

The show went without a hitch, but unfortunately disaster then struck as thieves, reported to be driving a black car, made off with some of the lights and pumpkins.

The couple were watching Eastenders and relaxing after a busy evening when they heard a loud bang as vandals tried to pull the lights away from the display.

Mr Walker admitted that at first they thought the noise was just on the television, and didn't go to investigate.

"After a couple of minutes we thought it could have been outside after all, and when we opened the front door we spotted that a couple of pumpkins had moved or disappeared," the 41-year-old explained.

It was then that Mr Adams, 31, went out in his car to search for anyone who may have seen the thieves driving away.

In a neighbouring road, he found a group of teenagers who had had pumpkins thrown at them, from a car they believed to be a Vauxhall Corsa.

Continuing his search, he found a resident whose car had been dented by one of the pumpkins.

The silver Audi had also had a pumpkin thrown at it, and had a large dent in the boot as a result.

This man thought that the car could have been a black Fiat Punto, but was not sure.

As a result of the pumpkins smashing when they were thrown from the car, the lights, which were stored in the lanterns to light them up, were found strewn over the road.

"We obviously feel responsible and guilty for the damage to the Audi, as it was one of our pumpkins that caused the damage," Mr Walker explained.

"We have thought about not doing the show at Christmas because of this, but it's for such a good cause that we're planning to go ahead with it," he added.

A Kent Police spokesman confirmed that officers are investigating a report of criminal damage in Frinstead Walk, which happened between 9.50pm and 9.55pm.

Enquiries into the incident are ongoing.