Brighton council on fears Christmas trees left to rot in park

Hundreds of the festive firs have been left in the official disposal area in Montpelier Crescent, Brighton, and sprawl down the footpath alongside the park.

Brighton and Hove City Council collected some of the trees on January 22, when the deposit point closed, but two days later more than a hundred remain.

It has sparked concerns they will be left to decay and become a blight on the landscape like last year when hundreds went uncollected until February 28.

One resident, who did not want to be named, said: “It’s now almost two months after Christmas and we’ve still got the trees outside. What’s going on?

Residents in Montpelier Crescent fear they could see a repeat of last year's incident (Image: Andrew Gardner)

“You’d have thought the council would’ve learned from their mistakes last year, but who knows what’ll happen.”

But the council has been quick to stamp out any rumours it will repeat last year’s events, saying workers will soon be collecting the trees.

“Our Christmas tree collection sites closed on Monday, January 22,” said a council spokesman.

“The signs and barriers have now been taken down and we have publicised the closing date widely on social media.

“Residents should now take their trees to our waste transfer sites in Brighton or Hove or dispose of them in their garden waste bin if they have one.

“Given the volume of trees that remain at some of our sites, we’ve asked our contractors to continue collecting ones that are still there for the next couple of days.

The council has denied it will leave the trees until February (Image: Andrew Gardner)

“We are aiming to have all our collection sites cleared by Friday.”

Residents in Montpelier Crescent last year were furious when the Christmas trees remained until the end of February.

READ MORE: 'Bloody eyesore' as Brighton's dead Christmas trees dumped

Daniel Harding, 82, whose son lives near to the area, said the trees were the first thing he saw when driving in to the road.

“It’s a bloody eyesore. It hits you in the face as you turn the corner,” he said.

“It’s always Brighton, isn’t it? It’s always the same, it’s Brighton all over. It’s a potential fire risk, especially fir trees – they’re a menace at the best of times.”