Since the 1950s, East Hull Fire Station on Southcoates Lane has displayed colourful cartoon characters in its windows to spread festive cheer to passing children (and adults!) during December. Sadly, 2017 will be the final year of this colourful tradition - but it promises to be the best ever!
Now that the crews will be relocating next Spring to the new Integrated Care Centre, on the site of the old David Lister School, 2017 will be the final year of this annual tradition.
To mark the event, White Watch Firefighter Billy Walmsley has written to local schools and invited the children to draw their own favourite characters which will then be transferred to Perspex, coloured in and displayed on the appliance bay windows. Billy has continued with this tradition for more than ten years with a little help from his colleagues.
All the schools in East Hull have been asked to take part and dozens of fantastic pictures have come back from year 5 and 6 pupils at schools such as Victoria Dock Primary. Winning pictures will be selected on Saturday 9 December and the children will be invited down in the New Year for a VIP tour of East Hull Fire Station.
The windows come alive at night as the lights from the station show the pictures at their best. Previous years [pictured] have been a real success, but it seems only fitting that for the station's final Christmas in the city's year of culture, this will be the best display ever!