A FESTIVE father of five from London Colney has decked his porch with a giant nativity scene. Benito Mazzarella, aged 68, of the High Street, spent several months creating his three by three metre wide nativity scene complete with background mountains, a

A FESTIVE father of five from London Colney has decked his porch with a giant nativity scene.

Benito Mazzarella, aged 68, of the High Street, spent several months creating his three by three metre wide nativity scene complete with background mountains, a herd of sheep and characters such as the Three Kings and shepherds.

Benito, who grew up in Italy and remembers creating nativity scenes at his local church in Naples, has been decorating his porch for years and said that he strived to make it bigger and better every Christmas.

"I have collected figurines from all over the world and I move my characters around each year to make it look different. I don't think you will find another nativity scene like it in this country - it's a piece of art!"

Benito, a retired carpenter who moved to London Colney from Italy over 40 years ago, said that he wanted everyone to come and see his creation: "I do it for the neighbours and I love celebrating Christmas with as many people as possible. I hope that my nativity helps put people in the festive mood.