Britain’s saddest Christmas tree? St Helens Council forced to get replacement 

Britain’s saddest Christmas tree? Town centre’s festive showpiece is branded ‘laughing stock’ by furious locals for second year in a row as council is forced to get replacement

  • St Helens residents were fuming after seeing the state of the town’s festive tree
  • The council, who have now agreed to replace it, are also not impressed 
  • Last year was a similar story as a halfheartedly decorated tree also upset locals 
  • Is your local Christmas tree woeful? Send us your pictures [email protected] 

A town centre’s Christmas tree has been deemed so awful that it is a ‘laughing stock’.  

Locals have complained so much that the conifer tree standing in the Merseyside town centre of St Helens is now being replaced. 

The tree has been branded a ‘laughing stock’ after it was put up in Church Square earlier this week, with one resident saying he thought it was a prank.

The council has once again come under fire as last year the town centre tree also caused a stink among locals.

The annual Church Square Christmas tree has outraged St Helens residents who say it is so bad it is a ‘laughing stock’

The distinctly unfestive tree is so bad that it is being replaced by St Helens Borough Council within the next 24 hours

The distinctly unfestive tree is so bad that it is being replaced by St Helens Borough Council within the next 24 hours

One resident said on Facebook that they thought it was so bad that it was last year’s Christmas tree being reused. 

Another said: ‘This is not funny, people will be coming to our town…. we will be the laughing stock.’

Last year locals were also dismayed as St Helens Council decided to forgo illuminations altogether, using only a few oversized ornaments as decoration.

Paul Whittaker, who took a picture of last year’s tree, joked that the sun shining through it was ‘the only light’ that had featured on mostly barren fir.

Last year's tree (pictured) was not much better, with St Helens Council opting for a minimal decorative approach with only a few oversized ornaments much to the dismay of locals

Last year’s tree (pictured) was not much better, with St Helens Council opting for a minimal decorative approach with only a few oversized ornaments much to the dismay of locals

Today Labour Leader of St Helens Borough Council David Baines said the current tree will be removed and replaced.

He said: ‘They (the trees) were loaded on trucks from the north east so weren’t able to be inspected first, and once checked over the Church Square tree was deemed to be below the standard we will accept. 

‘So it’s being replaced. These things happen.’ 

A spokesperson for St Helens Borough Council said: ‘Hello everyone, just to let you know we’re not happy with this tree either.

When the tree is unwrapped it is our first chance to look at it too and this does not meet our standards.

‘We can assure everyone that this tree will be replaced with a new one in the next 24 hours!’

St Helens residents were not alone however, as there have been just as bad Christmas trees spotted in other towns over the years.

A Christmas tree in Tyldesley in Greater Manchester looked so lousy that locals took matters in to their own hands by decorating the conifer themselves

A Christmas tree in Tyldesley in Greater Manchester looked so lousy that locals took matters in to their own hands by decorating the conifer themselves

Residents were baffled after someone left a sad-looking tree on a roundabout in Scartho, Grimsby, but the decoration of twinkling lights and a silver topper was appreciated

Residents were baffled after someone left a sad-looking tree on a roundabout in Scartho, Grimsby, but the decoration of twinkling lights and a silver topper was appreciated

Wirral residents were furious with a tree placed on a busy shopping street in Birkenhead, saying that it looked like a bit of scaffolding

Wirral residents were furious with a tree placed on a busy shopping street in Birkenhead, saying that it looked like a bit of scaffolding

Residents in Grimsby were shocked when they saw the chosen tree after learning that more than £1,000 had been spent on it

Residents in Grimsby were shocked when they saw the chosen tree after learning that more than £1,000 had been spent on it

One poor effort in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester, saw the council's festive pine take the form of a cone-shaped wireframe, decked with bunting

One poor effort in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester, saw the council’s festive pine take the form of a cone-shaped wireframe, decked with bunting