UK’s worst Christmas trees revealed – from blood-filled baubles to £20k ‘omnishambles’

Every Christmas brings a new batch of local Christmas trees – and with it, a new chorus of complaints over some of the poor offerings from different towns across the UK.

And with the cost of living crisis forcing councils to cut back, this year has more disappointing – and frankly downright disturbing – festive ferns than ever before.

Here is a round-up of some of this year’s poorest efforts.

READ MORE: Mum cancels Christmas claiming it’s ‘too disruptive’ to toddlers’ routine

£22k Christmas tree that made local kids cry

Residents of Boston, Lincolnshire were less than impressed when the local council shelled out a whopping £22,290 for a “rubbish” artificial tree.

The tree was so expensive that the council blew their budget for other Christmas decorations – meaning the tree doesn’t even have lights or baubles.

The council said the lack of lights was down to funding cuts, with town Mayor Councillor Anne Dorrian calling the situation a “complete and utter omnishambles,” LincolnshireLive reported.

But locals asked why the tree itself set the council back so much.

Boston resident Helen Wright, 59, said: “One late night shopping I heard a little girl crying saying ‘where are the Christmas lights?’

“The tree looks rubbish. It’s all just really bad.”

Grimsby’s grim baubles filled with semen, blood and urine

Opting for Christmas fear rather than Christmas cheer, Grimsby town centre’s tree was decorated with baubles filled with blood and semen.

The non-traditional decor was installed as part of an exhibition, alongside a “deconstructed Christmas dinner” that hoped to give people a “bit of a giggle”.

Dale Wells, one half of the team responsible for the festive monstrosity alongside Darren Neave, said: “Those hollow plastic baubles that you see cropping up everywhere that people fill with glitter and that kind of thing – they scream for something to be done with them.”

He added: “There’s a layer of blood in one. […] There’s another one with urine, wine, glitter and food colouring, and then there’s one with semen.”

“Scrooge” council leaves tree almost undecorated

Locals in Brighouse, Yorkshire, weren’t pleased with their sparsely-decorated spruce.

The Briggate roundabout fern appeared to have been decorated in haste, with lights seeming to have been haphazardly thrown over the tree, YorkshireLive reported.

One Brighouse resident said: “I would have brought spare decorations with me if I’d have known it was that pathetic. I’m sure others would’ve donated a couple of trimmings each. Next year I hope it’ll be better.”

Another said: “Come on Calderdale [council]. ‘Scrooge’ comes to mind.”

Half-lit horror after tree sparks safety fears

Also near Brighouse, a Christmas tree was dubbed “the worst in the North” after health and safety concerns meant only half of it could be lit.

The conifer in Bailiff Bridge’s Memorial Park was only decorated on its lower half, disappointing locals and council members alike.

Conservative councillor George Robinson said it was a “sturdy and cracking tree” but that the decorations were a disappointment.

“It’s a shambles, the worst Christmas tree in the North,” he said.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Calderdale Council said it was not “safe or accessible to decorate the highest sections” of the tree.

“Saddest Christmas tree” sent back by the council

Council chiefs in Merseyside were forced to return their tree after it was dubbed “Britain’s saddest”.

The 16ft spruce was patchy and brown with branches missing, and when it was put up in St. Helen’s, locals said they had been given England’s “worst tree” for two years running after last year’s offering received similarly poor reviews.

Some even speculated that this year’s tree could just be 2021’s tree repotted.

One local said: “If it hadn’t […] been so poor last year, I’d have agreed it was a mistake this time around.

“I think the council chanced their arm on a cheap tree… again.”

The council agreed the tree did not “meet their standards” and agreed to replace it within 24 hours.

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