A Christmas tree in a Lancashire seaside town has been branded an “embarrassment” with locals decorating it themselves to brighten it up.
Some residents were disappointed when the eight-foot-tall fir tree was put up outside the Arndale Shopping Centre in Morecambe by a business group.
The tree was dismissed as “dismal”, “depressing” and an “embarrassment” with some taking it upon themselves to add tinsel and a few baubles, according to Lancashire Live.
But the local Business Improvement District (BID), which accepts money from local businesses to fund projects in the town, defended the Norwegian fir.
John O’Neill, manager of Morecambe BID, told the publication: “The tree is the same as it is every year and we have never had complaints before. It is a plain Norwegian Fir, which we put lights on, but it is never intended to have decorations.”
He explained some people have chosen to decorate the tree with a few baubles, but they only appear on half the tree, adding: “It was never meant to be decorated. It is a very nice tree as it is.”
Mr O’Neill said the BID had put 24 “very prominent” LED cones down the Promenade for Christmas as well as the tree and it is all free for everyone.
News of Morecambe’s Christmas tree comes after people on social media slammed the Christmas tree raised in London’s Trafalgar Square.
The tree is donated annually by Norway and arrived in the square earlier this month. But it too prompted criticism with social media users slamming its spare appearance.
Westminster City Council pointed out branches had been removed from the 19 metre tall tree to ease its passage from Norway to the UK.
Tree surgeons hammered the sawn off branches back onto the tree and removed dead bits after it arrived in Trafalgar Square, the Evening Standard reported.
The transformation then won plaudits on social media with users describing it as “beautiful” and “probably” the best the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree has looked in years.
It was decorated in a Norwegian style, with strings of lights streaming down from the top.
The City of Oslo sends a tree to the capital every year as a thank you for Britain’s support for Norway in the Second World War.
