A “TREEMENDOUS” Christmas tree recycling scheme which raised funds for Stourbridge’s Mary Stevens Hospice has been hailed.

More than 80 Christmas trees were collected last weekend with staff at the Hagley Road hospice saying the project – which was in its first year of running – “surpassed all expectations”.

In exchange for a suggested minimum donation of £5 to the charity, residents in DY7, DY8 and DY9 postcodes could book to have their Christmas trees collected from in front of their house, to save them from having to take them to the tip or get rid of them themselves.

Residents were also able to take their leftover trees to Broome business Hagley Christmas Trees throughout the weekend, where a team of volunteers and staff were on hand to take the trees in exchange for a donation to the hospice.

Although the official figure has not yet been finalised, staff estimate the “treecycle” has raised about £800.

Laura Millard, Mary Stevens Hospice’s community engagement officer, said: “Obviously, when you do an event for the first time you can never be certain of how it will go and how our community will receive it.

“However, the support we had was absolutely phenomenal and the phone never stopped ringing after we launched the event.

“So I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who booked a collection or dropped off their tree, and thank you to the wonderful hospice volunteers and Hagley Christmas Trees' staff who donated their time and effort to support us in such a big way.

“It was just treemendous.”

Following the success of the event, the hospice will be looking at running the scheme once again in January 2018, making collections available to more postcodes in the area.