Residents of a village have knitted a 17-foot high Christmas tree to raise money for firefighters.

Over 1,000 12 centimetre "granny squares" have been transformed into the tree by East Preston villagers and put on display to raise money for the Fire Fighters Charity.

A group, known as the East Preston Yarnbombers, initially put out a request for knitted and crocheted squares back in October, receiving over and above what was needed to make the tree.

Excess squares have been made into blankets and will be donated to Broadwater Ward at Worthing Hospital, who care for rehabilitating patients.

A spokeswoman for the Yarnbombers said: "The village has always been so supportive of our street decorations; the idea of a community project was irresistable.

"We were totally overwhelmed by the response, the squares have to be seen to be believed, they're beautiful."

A local carpenter, Andy Billups, made the wooden structure for the tree, with estate agents Brennan and Chatterton buying 2,000 fairy lights to decorate it.

Christmas cards featuring the tree have also been sold by the group, with all of the profit going towards their fundraiser.

The tree had initially been installed outside of East Preston Fire Station, but was toppled over when Storm Arwen struck the south coast.

The Argus: The tree was blown over by Storm Arwen last monthThe tree was blown over by Storm Arwen last month

Since then, it has been moved to Two Acres, beside Oakley Gardens in the village, which is a more sheltered location.

The tree will be on display until January 4, when it will be repurposed into blankets, with the structure being donated to East Preston Junior school to use in their Forest School.

The East Preston Yarnbombers have so far raised £123 through their JustGiving page for The Fire Fighters Charity, which provides life-enhancing support to the UK's fire and rescue community.

The group's fundraiser can be found at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/epyarn2021.

Yarn bombing is a form of street art where colourful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre are put on display in public places.

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