Usually, electrical appliance shop windows wouldn't lend themselves to a special festive exhibition.

But Kris Sale, 44, has managed to attract hordes of visitors to the sparkly scene at his outlet in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex.

He said: "It just came to us in a flash of inspiration.

"We never expected a few hoovers on a bed of straw to be so popular though." 

It was his 16-year-old son, Ashley that came up with the novel idea after putting some tinsel around a Henry vacuum cleaner. 

Henry and his pink wife Hetty sit on a bed of straw in a cardboard stable in the roles of Joseph and Mary, while a baby Henry lies in a manger. 

The family are also joined by Wise Men vacuums, complete with crowns; Charles - blue, George - green and Edward - yellow.

The scene has attracted thousands of fans on Facebook, racking up 67,000 likes. 

Mr Sale said it was "all a bit of fun."

He continued: "My son and I wanted to do a fun Christmas display and we were just wandering through the shop looking for an idea.

"We were standing next to the Henrys and my son said 'why don't we put some tinsel round them to make them look a bit Christmassy.

"We've got a little cuddly toy vacuum that we give to kids if their parents buy a Henry and once we remembered that we realised it was the perfect start for the nativity.

"Originally we just did it as a bit of fun but now there are crowds of people coming to see baby Henry, Mary and Joseph and the Wise Men - Charles, George and Edward."

The shop owner is known for his quirky window displays, having previously transformed a washing machine into a cash tank and a putting a dummy of a repair man inside a cooker - as though he was mending it. 

"All day long people are taking pictures and it's gone viral in a way we'd never imagined," he added.