VILLAGERS in Wellington have staged their first ever Christmas Tree Festival.

Many clubs and organisations in the village responded to the invitation to take part and used their vivid imaginations to illustrate their activities or passions and to ‘market’ themselves.

A number of individuals also participated by entering decorated trees, resulting in an impressive display of 35 trees in St Margaret's church.

The trees came in the full range of shapes, sizes, materials and colours ranging from a six-inch tree through to a 15-feet tall specimen donated to the church by Festive Farm in Wellington.

There were traditional, natural trees as well as artificial trees of all sorts; green, white, black, red; some not trees at all, just artistic interpretations of a decorative tree.

The event was rounded off with the carol service attended by a congregation in virtually a full church.

"This was a truly remarkable response on the part of the whole village to a call to action which once again demonstrated the tremendous community spirit that exists in Wellington," said spokesman Keith Brimley.