Skip to content

Pensioner's mobility scooter spreads Christmas cheer

A pensioner from Portstewart, County Londonderry, is brightening up his hometown with his make-shift Christmas customisation.

Alfie Ferguson, 79, with the help of his family, decorated his mobility scooter in Christmas lights, tinsel, baubles and candy canes in an effort to spread some much-needed festive cheer.

Mr Ferguson has been driving his "Yule-ride" around the town, dressed in his Christmas jumper and elf hat, wishing passers-by a Merry Christmas.

The Santa scooter is proving a real Christmas cracker among the locals and shows that it isn't just the halls that can be decked out this year.

Video Journalist Mike McBride

23 December 2021

Explore More

A woman with dark hair pulled back from her face wears a chef's whites. She is standing next to her cake shop window display, which features a large, iced igloo and cake penguins.

The gravity-defying stunt penguins made from cake

Hull & East Yorkshire

An aerial image of The Shard with white Christmas lights shining

Gareth Malone turns on The Shard's Christmas lights

A man places the final gold bauble on the Covent Garden Christmas tree

Watch: How Covent Garden gets its Christmas tree

Aerial view of Oxford Street in central London showing the twinkly stars over the street with a double decker bus and cars driving with their lights on

Watch: Oxford Street Christmas lights switched on

Women taking part in Boxing Day dip

Watch: Hundreds take the plunge in Boxing Day dip

King Charles

Watch the King's Christmas message in full

Nigella Lawson

Watch: Nigella on that microwavé pronunciation

Entertainment & Arts

Smiling crew member of HMS Tamar

Navy crews send Christmas messages to loved ones

Hampshire & Isle of Wight

A milkman grabs bottles next to a Merry Christmas sign

Watch: London workers on Christmas Day 1949

Lights at Blenheim Palace

World Heritage Site lights up for Christmas

Ady Dayman

'Pork pie for breakfast is our Christmas tradition'

Hospital patient Eva with a pair of gifted pyjamas

Charity gives pyjamas to sick children

Nativity scene in Manger Square

Bethlehem nativity scene shown with rubble and wire

Daria Tarasevych

Ukrainian refugee: 'Gingerbread is my meditation'

A pair of alpacas on leads

Alpacas visit patients in hospital over Christmas

Gloucestershire

Tom Baker stands in front of his snow window art in Muswell Hill

How do you make snow-window art?

Two rhinos and a Christmas pudding ball

Watch: Rhinos 'scared' by Christmas pudding present

Christmas tree lit up in Kyiv

A tour round the world's Christmas lights

Wham! in the music video for Last Christmas

Christmas No 1 was always the goal - Wham! star

Entertainment & Arts

four-year-old Evie Green reading a Christmas card

Hundreds of cards for girl awaiting heart transplant

Emma, with long brown hair and wearing a purple hoody, looks to the side of the camera

How schools can help bereaved pupils with grief

Emma, who lost her brother, says it can be "overwhelming" to deal with grief alongside school work.

Northern Ireland

Tom Hadden sits on a grey sofa. He is wearing a stripey top.

'Rural road crash changed my life'

Tom Hadden was driving a bin lorry down a country road when another truck collided with his vehicle.

Northern Ireland

A woman with straight blonde hair looks to the side of the camera. She is wearing a blue t-shirt and necklace.

Parents of SEN young people call for support

Currently pupils with special educational needs do not receive automatic support to continue in education when they leave school.

Northern Ireland

Memorial stone in Ballyatrick forest to Inga Maria Hauser. Bouquets of flowers have been placed around the stone

Murdered backpacker's family hopeful over inquest

Eighteen-year-old Inga Maria Hauser's body was found in Ballypatrick forest in County Antrim in 1988.

Northern Ireland

A hole in a dark gravel road up close with a road continuing in the background surrounded by fields

'The edges have eroded away'

Potholes and deteriorating rural roads are affecting journeys, said a transport provider.

Northern Ireland

Sebastian is being kissed on the cheek by his mother Amanda. He has short blonde hair and is wearing a blue jacket. Amanda is wearing a black and white headscarf and gold feathered earrings.

'He has nowhere to go and he's still there'

Sebastian's mother said he had limited access to the outside world after spending 10 months in hospital.

Northern Ireland

Noleen Mullan, the mother of Katie Simpson, speaking at a press conference. She is wearing an olive coat over a white top.

Katie Simpson family 'feeling empty' after report

Katie Simpson's mother says those responsible for police failings "are nowhere to be seen".

Northern Ireland

Debbie McCrudden

'I'm glad I didn't let the fear stop me'

Debbie McCrudden was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2014 and was worried about having children.

Northern Ireland

A man with black glasses and a yellow jumper looks at the camera. He has black hair

'We caught my cancer early - that was key'

Two men are raising awareness of the signs of testicular and prostate cancer.

Northern Ireland

A man with a black beard and black hair stands in front of University of Ulster building wearing a black hoody

Belfast reacts to Trump's US election victory

BBC NI asks people in Belfast how they feel about Donald Trump's victory in the US election.

Northern Ireland

Sandra Larmour

‘Drugs was never really a topic of conversation’

Sandra Larmour's daughter Jeni died hours after arriving at Newcastle University to begin her degree.

Northern Ireland

Gillian Kearney speaking at a police press conference. There is a green PSNI banner behind her and four microphones in front. She is in uniform and has blonde hair, which is tied back.

Increased police presence in Derry after attacks

Speaking at a press conference, Ch Supt Kearney says the extra policing will continue over the coming days.

Northern Ireland

Indiana Land sign, with snakes and birds

A trip down memory lane with BBC archives

More than 9,000 new video clips from the 1990s have been added to the BBC Northern Ireland Rewind website.

Northern Ireland

Cahir O'Hagan in football top in stadium

'Medication wasn't able to save my brother'

Cahir O'Hagan was 25 when he died from cystic fibrosis while waiting for a lung transplant.

Northern Ireland

Lara Storey sitting in front of a window

'I never had anyone sit down and take me seriously'

Former Tesco employee Lara Storey wants other women to know they don’t have to accept unwanted behaviour.

Northern Ireland

Melissa Hamilton - a woman with long, blonde hair which is tied back in a ponytail is smiling as she looks slightly off camera.

'To perform ballet back home is a dream come true'

Melissa Hamilton is performing three ballet shows in Belfast's Grand Opera House this weekend.

Northern Ireland

Kwame Daniels in front of the Telegraph building in Belfast. He is wearing thick-rimmed glasses, a green jacket, a red shirt and a ruck sack.

'I'm home': Anti-slavery show explores Belfast diversity

A unique live show commemorating Belfast's opposition to the slave trade has opened in the city centre.

Northern Ireland

Deirdre Shakespeare wearing a white blouse and gold necklace. She has wavy blonde hair and is outside. There are trees and fields behind her.

Mother 'vindicated' by report into autistic son's treatment

Deirdre Shakespeare's son, Harry, was restrained in a chair at his special school without her knowledge.

Northern Ireland

Christine McCleery - she has long blonde hair and a black top on.

'I want to prevent this happening again' - Mum of stillborn baby

Services for pregnant women need to be overhauled in Northern Ireland, a review finds.

Northern Ireland

Woody the dog - he wears a harness and is a red labrador. He has beautiful brown eyes

'One ferret killed 27 puffins' - the dog keeping seabirds safe

Ferrets and rats pose a grave risk to puffins and other seabirds who breed on Rathlin Island every year.

Northern Ireland