Supporters across north east Essex registered for the annual Christmas Tree-cycle and made generous donations to the charity in exchange for the collection and disposal of their real Christmas trees.

2022 saw the charity expand its service to include the CO13, CO14, CO15 and CO16 postcode areas alongside the regular CO1 to CO9 and CO11 collection areas. A team of 94 volunteers made up of local supporters, businesses and St Helena Hospice staff members, all donating their time and the use of their vehicles to collect over 2300 trees on Saturday. The trees were then taken to local recycling centres to be disposed of, alongside the regular garden waste, meaning it will avoid landfill and help the environment.

Fundraising manager at St Helena Hospice, Sarah Wilson, said: “We were delighted to see the incredible uptake of this year’s Christmas Tree-cycle, and have been blown away by the generosity of all those who donated in exchange for us picking up and recycling their trees. In total, we have raised over a fantastic £28,500 which will be used to support local people facing incurable illness and bereavement.