Hospice tree collection is best ever

A troupe of volunteers braved the wind and rain over the weekend to collect a record number of Christmas trees for recycling, raising vital funds for Trinity Hospice.

The hospice’s annual Christmas Tree collection saw 60 volunteers work through the weekend to collect nearly 2,000 trees from homes across the Fylde coast.

The collection has raised more than £24,300 for the hospice – the most ever raised through the event, which will be used to provide outstanding specialist care to people in Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre.

The trees were taken for recycling either at the tip in Bispham or to St Annes where they will form part of the sand dunes restoration project.

The hospice’s Corporate Partnerships Manager, Janet Atkins, said: “Once again, we are blown away by the generosity of our community. Our Christmas Tree collection continues to grow, with more trees collected and more money raised than ever before.

“We really wouldn’t be able to put this event on without our incredible volunteers, who spend their weekend in all weathers driving across the Fylde coast to collect and cut up trees and take them to our local recycling centres.

“The weather this weekend was particularly tough, but our volunteers kept on smiling and truly made this year’s collection the best ever.

“A huge thank to you everyone who gave up their time to help, to all those who booked their collection with us, to Blackpool and Fylde councils and to our event sponsors, Ameon and Easthams Solicitors. You are all absolutely amazing.

“It is only thanks to our supporters and the incredible people who help us to hold our events, like the Christmas Tree Collection, that we are able to reach everyone who needs specialist hospice care on the Fylde coast.”