Halloween-themed Finches Rest Cemetery in The Finches, Sittingbourne, to run for final time

A “slightly mad” alarm engineer is transforming his garden into a spooky Halloween scene for the last time, but says will “go out with a bang”.

Rob Amey has been hosting ghoulish goings on outside his home in The Finches, Sittingbourne, since 2017 to raise hairs, but also money for charity.

The almost annual attraction, dubbed Finches Rest Cemetery, started as a hobby for the father-of-three but has grown into a well-loved attraction attended by “thousands”.

It began as a low-key graveyard with tombstones but since 2021 the 51-year-old has taken around a month away from his alarm and electronics business – Amey Security Systems – to construct a wooden house of horrors. His knowledge of electronics meant he was able to create an interactive system, with pressure plates prompting a variety of scares.

The first year was a mishmash of themes featuring a scorched scarecrow, a 7ft undead clown playing hide and seek, a bedroom, a shower scene and a picture corridor.

In 2022 he recrated the boiler room scene from the Nightmare on Elm Street film.

After taking a break last year he has transformed the house into an asylum, although is keen to keep the details secret.

“What people can expect is jump scares, fun, screams and laughter,” Rob told the News.

“We almost always get the laughter afterwards the screams. It’s lovely to hear because it shows people are enjoying it which makes it worthwhile for us.

“It’s bigger than last year as I wanted to make it as good as I want it to go out with a bang.”

Although Rob has not kept track of visitor numbers he reckons that over the years thousands of people have turned up to enjoy the scenes.

But Rob says it will be the last year, due to the cost and time he needs to dedicate to the hobby.

He said: “I’m 51 now so it’s not as easy as it was when I first started.

“It takes a lot of time and I take a month off work to get this done which leads to a loss of earnings. I also had to rent out a separate garage to store it all for most of the year.

“From November onwards, I am always thinking about what I can do for the next version of it as you want to keep it new so people can come back and not know what’s in here.

“So it can be a bit of a drain sometimes and it’s no longer viable going forward for me to keep doing.

“It is a huge amount of fun and I enjoy putting it together, being creative and watching the reactions that we get. I will be sad when it comes to an end but slightly relieved as well because it’s a lot of work.”

But Rob, who described himself as “slightly mad” hopes he can find “someone like-minded” to take on the building materials that he has gathered over the years and take on the project at their own home.

While entry is free, donations are welcomed with all proceeds going to Kent autism charities.

The family has raised some £5,500 for The Autism Apprentice CIC but wanted to, as Rob says, “spread the love” by supporting a different charity for the final year.

Rob and his children, Jessica, 15, George, 13, and Chloe, 21, are on the autism spectrum and he and wife Lauren have been supported by the charity.

The attraction is open from 6pm to 9pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from October 11 until Halloween.