The man at the centre of a court battle over the way he has decorated his house with 8,000 Christmas lights has accused his neighbours of being "killjoys".

David Rowlands and his wife Emma have lost an appeal against a court order banning them from switching on the lights at night.

Mr Rowlands said he was "disappointed" with his neighbours for bringing the action.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Friday he said he would not be making any effort to have a reconciliation with his neighbours.

"The court allowed me to turn my lights on between 2pm and 5pm which is totally outrageous," he said.

'Very disappointed'

"I don't feel that between 2pm and 5pm is a good time for anybody to display Christmas lights."

Mr Rowlands, who insists his display is small by comparison with some others, denied his neighbours' suggestion that about 80 cars an hour drive past, causing a nuisance.

He added: "I feel very disappointed in them taking me to court saying I've been a nuisance."

But Mr Rowlands' neighbour Fiona Barr said the action had been brought because people wanted some "peace and quiet".

She denied they were being killjoys, saying the road was too small and narrow for the volume of traffic generated by interest in the lights.

Asked for a compromise

But she said she was happy to make it up to Mr Rowlands: "I am quite happy to say 'good morning' to Mr Rowlands any day of the week.

"But we've had to do this because Mr Rowlands said he was being reasonable when we asked for a compromise last month.

"His idea of a compromise is cutting 8,000 lights down to 6,000 lights, he still wanted 11 illuminated figures and 18 blown vinyl figures and that was not reasonable to us."

When asked directly if, in the spirit of Christmas, he would consider a reconciliation he said: "I can assure but I certainly will not make up with the neighbours, they are very, very much killjoys."

At Paisley Sheriff Court on Thursday failed to overturn an interim interdict granted to their neighbours last week.

'Ruined Christmas'

An attempt by the Rowlands' lawyer Gordon Ghee to move the three hours they are allowed to illuminate their Irvine home was also disallowed by Sheriff Principal Bruce Kerr.

The order, limiting the couple to switching on their outdoor display between 1400GMT and 1700GMT each day and not at all on Sundays, was won by 50 neighbours.

The long-running saga has reached court on three occasions.

The Rowlands maintain their festive illuminations are breaking no laws. They had argued in court that the strict curfew has ruined their Christmas and is infringing their civil rights.