He’s known as Mr Christmas but Derek Highe is a man for all seasons.

For the last decade dad-of-two Derek has festooned the front of his Mirfield home with Christmas lights and raised thousands of pounds for charity.

But what not a lot of people know is that out the back Derek has his own little tropical paradise.

While the front of his semi-detached house is turned into a winter wonderland every Christmas, the back is a sun trap and home to a thriving collection of trees and plants more likely to be found in hotspots around the world.

Derek has raised £34,000 down the years for Kirkwood Hospice and other good causes with his Christmas lights.

A visit to his home has become an annual Christmas tradition for a generation of children.

While the front garden could be home to polar bears in December, come summer the back garden resembles the Costas.

TAKE a look at Derek Highe's Christmas Lights below

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“The exotic palm trees and plants are something I’ve been interested in for the last 30 years,” said Derek, 58.

“It all started when I went on my first foreign holiday to Malta and brought a cactus back.”

Since then Derek has sourced plants from Spain, the Mediterranean, Mexico, Australia – and the Nevada Desert.

“If I see a plant I like I find out what it is and then go to a supplier and have it imported when I get home,” said Derek. “Over the years I’ve built up a lot of experience in how to keep tropical plants in the British climate.”

As a general rule the bigger the plant the better it copes with a British winter but most of Derek’s plants go into the greenhouse in the coldest months of the year.

“Once the temperature gets below 4C they start to struggle,” said Derek. “The biggest specimens can cope with a couple of nights of frost. They can be wrapped in a fleece that you can buy at garden centres.”

Most of Derek’s plants spend winter in the shelter of the greenhouse.

Pride and joy at Costa del Derek is the 50ft tall Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus Fortunei) but he’s also fond of his Ensete – also known as the Ethiopian or Red Banana, and the spiky Agave Parryi, a native of Arizona.

“My advice to anyone buying a palm tree or similar is to buy the biggest you can afford,” said Derek.

“That way they will be hardier but also if you buy a smaller one you won’t see the best of it in your lifetime because it’s slow growing.”

Derek runs a kitchen and bedrooms firm but his exotic hobby is rapidly becoming a business sideline as customers turn to him for growing advice.

He’s a bit coy about his investment in plants – wife Joy is blissfully unaware – but his garden is his oasis.

“I floodlight the garden on a night and when it’s warm I’ll sit out until 9.30pm or 10pm and it’s just like being on holiday,” said Derek.

“It’s well worth the investment.”