A super-generous Livingston couple have raised tens of thousands for good causes by carving countless brilliant wooden sculptures.
Lizette Bingham told Edinburgh Live that their charity campaign The Rudolph Project essentially got underway in 2013, one year after they were married, when husband Paddy asked for a chainsaw as an anniversary present.
She joked that the request left her "stunned" at first, but admits she had no idea how much good the gift would end up doing.
In the last seven years they've used it to create scores of cracking owl, Rudolph and snowman sculptures which the couple been able to sell on – raising £76,000 for good causes and charities.
In recent weeks they handed over a cheque for £4000 to the Michelle Henderson Cervical Cancer Trust – the charity set up by the late daughter of Rangers legend Willie Henderson.
However down the years they have also been able to support the work of Muscular Dystrophy, Myeloma UK, CLIC Sargent, CHAS, West Lothian Prostate Cancer Support Group, Alzheimer's Scotland and dozens more.
Lizette explained that the idea for the sculptures came from a visit to a West Lothian garden centre one afternoon.
She said: "We were walking around a garden centre, and they had some wooden reindeer. I thought they were ugly and said we could do better – and one day he [Paddy] did.
"We ended up giving around 16 or 17 of them out to friends and family that Christmas, and thought that was probably it.
"But then before the next Christmas we had people getting in touch asking if they could buy them off us. We thought we could sell them for charity, and it's gone from there."
Lizette worked in education for much of her career while Paddy spent decades working in the care industry, and as a nurse with the army – so neither have a woodworking background.
All sculptures are made in their garage at home, and Lizette added: "I'm quite new to Livingston, but it's funny because I think people now know me as Mrs Rudolph. Or from the Rudolph Project.
"Next we'll be carving some easter bunnies and that will be in support of a Parkinson's charity."
