A tree is for life and not just for Christmas, according to a greenfingered couple intent on protecting the environment.

Adam and Gill Campbell hated the fact trees were chopped down only for them to be binned at the end of the holiday season.

Now the eco-friendly pair have created a tree-mendous solution – by replanting the festive firs so they can be used every year.

The couple have started England's first Christmas tree recycling business which delivers firs to homes and collects them again in January.

They plan to replant the trees on the edge of Brighton – so they can be used again and again in future years.

Garden centre boss Mr Campbell said he and his wife thought of recycling trees because they were appalled by the annual wastage.

He said: “We are fairly environmentally aware and we always hated seeing all the Christmas trees being abandoned.

“The trees are either chipped or left to die slowly. We want to change the way Christmas trees are produced and sold in Britain.

“We know that not all the trees will survive but we will replant the ones which do.”

Christmas tree hire is big business in America, where people rent their fir for a few weeks and give it back to be replanted.

Mr Campbell, who runs Gill’s Home and Garden, in Western Road, Hove, said he believed it would catch on in Britain because people are becoming more environmentally aware.

He said: “Massive trees are not sustainable in pots.

“We are trying very hard to source our trees from UK suppliers and next year we hope to get all of our trees from Sussex.

“Our aim is for them not to be dug up so that they can continue to grow for 20 years or more and absorb carbon.”

Its costs £20 to hire a small tree and £30 for a large one, which includes delivery and collection.

To hire a fir, call Gill’s Home and Garden on 01273 772602.