BURY Hospice is asking residents to put their old Christmas trees to help raise vital funds for the charity.

When those pine needles become too much and the baubles are hanging lower in those days after Christmas, most would just take it to the local tip to dispose of.

However, the hospice is encouraging people to help the environment and be charitable at the same time.

Teams of volunteers will be out between Friday, January 8 and Sunday, January 10, across the BL0, BL8, BL9, M25, M26 and M45 postcode areas.

Rachel Wallace, head of marketing, communications and fundraising, said; “We have been overwhelmed with community support throughout this year, which has been difficult for everyone. We cannot thank our community enough for all the fundraising and donations. Our Christmas Tree collection is a really easy way to give money to your hospice – and every penny makes a real difference.”

Ground down wood chip can go to biomass to produce electricity, instead of dumped trees which can provide an unpleasant site when left in alleys and backstreets.

The Christmas tree collection service is sponsored by Bespoke Landscapes, Ashley Edge Gardening Services, Parcelfast, Lostock Installations, Senior Waste Removals, Ferriday Motor Bodies, A&A Couriers, Timothy’s NW and a great team of volunteers.

Dale Mulgrew, has been collecting trees with the volunteers for four years now, said: "This is a great fun weekend - we have brilliant volunteers who work round the clock to help us, and thanks to Tesco Woodfield for donating goodies to keep spirits and energy levels up.

"Only thing we ask is to please remove your fairy lights so we don’t tangled up in them!”

To support the hospice, families are urged to register their Christmas trees online by noon on Wednesday, January 6, 2021 and give a donation. To register, please visit https://just-helping.org.uk/collections/bury-hospice