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A Christmas tree festival has again broken its own record for the number of trees in a church.
St Mary’s in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire hosted 1,378 specimens, 124 more than last year – thought to be the then largest in the country.
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The festival, which raised 20,000 for charity in 2015, started with 100 trees 14 years ago.
Not all the trees are real with one made of miniature beds and another of a rotating ladder and twisted metal.
This year’s festival will raise money for Home-Start and for the restoration of the church which will take most of 2017.
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Organiser Ian Neal said: “We’ve got a lot more artificial trees [than previously] but there’s a lot of intrigue really. A roofing company made a tree totally out of their materials.”
Each tree is made by schools, community groups, organisations and companies from around Melton and further afield including one from the USA.
From January, the church will be closed while the floor is raised, heating installed, a new sound system built and the organ – once played by Sir Malcolm Sargent – is getting a 150,000 overhaul.
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