DOROTHY House Hospice in Winsley has hailed its first Christmas tree collection a success after raising over £6,000.

The charity decided to offer the service at the start of the month, collecting everyone’s old Christmas trees for recycling, covering Bradford on Avon, Trowbridge, Westbury, Corsham, Bath and Frome. Over 75 supporters of the hospice volunteered to take part in the collections, picking up 817 trees on January 7 and January 8. In turn, Dorothy House asked for a small donation to help towards the work it carries out and raised £6,185.50.

Steph Cox, community fundraiser for Dorothy House, said: “We’d like to thank everyone that had a tree collected and made a donation, your money will go directly to supporting patients, their families and carers.”

To help carry out the works, Rygor in Westbury provided vehicles and volunteers for the collections and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) in Melksham supplied tree chippers and more volunteers. All of the trees collected were chipped and shredded to make reusable materials for the community.

“We’d also like to thank the team of volunteers who made the scheme possible and the companies that supported us with equipment and manpower- SSEN, Rygor, Melksham Motor Spares, Pearns Tree Services and Inspired Joinery. We look forward to seeing you all again next January,” added Mrs Cox.

Dorothy House will aim to run the Christmas tree collection scheme again next year with an increased area coverage. If anyone would like to get involved they are asked to contact Miss Cox via email at steph.cox@dorothyhouse-hospice.org.uk or call 01225 721480.