First look at South Shields grandad's hearse of horrors set to be a hit this Halloween

In recent years, Stan Yannetta’s Heaton Gardens home in South Shields has become the only place to be seen dead at on October 31 with hundreds of kids turning up at the door.

This year, the grandad-of-five has outdone himself, with a Halloween party he has been preparing for since the beginning of the year.

In January 2019 Stan, who runs Stan’s Autos on Commercial Road, bought a hearse which he has now converted into a ‘Halloween machine’.

It comes complete with a pop-up grim reaper and flashing red lights on the roof and a screaming man in a coffin which comes out of the back.

The 58-year-old’s home has already become a landmark in South Shields thanks to his collection of more than 30 life-size statues in the garden, including Laurel and Hardy, King Kong and the black cat with the glow-in-the-dark eyes on the garage roof.

But on Halloween the house is taken over by spooky decorations and statues of ghosts and ghouls, which Stan says came about seeing how much his grandchildren loved the occasion.

“It started off small, with just a few Halloween decorations in my garden and now it’s massive, it takes over two houses including my brother’s next door,” he said.

“I get it all roped off and the traffic just stops because there are so many people here.

“It’s going to be even better this year because I’ve got all the new stuff.”

Stan’s handiwork has become so popular that he has started using the opportunity to take donations for charity.

This year all proceeds will go to the Charlie and Carter Cookson Foundation and Parkinson’s UK.

“It takes about two days to set it all up and then at the last minute I switch it all on. I spend so much time and money and it’s only for about three hours,” continued Stan.

“It’s all for the kids to see the excitement and the fear on their faces – I just love it."

Find Stan’s hearse of horrors at Heaton Gardens, South Shields, on Wednesday, October 31.