'Truly terrible' Christmas tree replaced after backlash

A much-mocked Christmas tree in a town centre has been replaced by a fuller, healthier-looking replacement.

The original tree in the centre of Darwen, Lancashire, left councillors red-faced after a sparse, worse-for-wear fir was installed in the market square.

The council joked on social media: "How many times have you ordered something, only for it to arrive and not be quite what you were expecting?"

Councillor Matt Jackson told BBC Radio Lancashire that a local resident first alerted him to the "sorry" tree, sending a picture with the caption "This is truly terrible".

Now the council said teams had been busy putting the replacement tree in place ahead of Saturday's Christmas lights switch-on.

The local authority said that it had already been told the new tree was "the best one ever".

After the installation of the first tree, BBC Radio Lancashire listeners saw the funny side, with one texting in that New York's famous "Rockefeller [tree] has nowt on this", while another thought they had seen "better trees thrown out after Christmas".

Another was not as concerned, writing in: "Does it really matter if it's not perfect? It's just a tree after all."

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