Families in Stockport say their town’s wonky Christmas tree is the ‘worst in the UK’ – branding it a ‘disgrace’ over its pipe cleaner-esque appearance and location on a roundabout

• The Council said the tree was chosen to ‘minimise the impact on road users’
• Residents branded the tree a ‘disgrace,’ with some saying the council had ‘declared war’ on Christmas

Residents have mocked their town’s wonky Christmas tree, branding it the ‘worst in the UK’.

The 12ft slender spruce has sparked outrage among locals who say it resembles a ‘pipe cleaner’ and ‘looks like it’s had a bit too much to drink’. 

The tree was planted on a roundabout in Stockport, Greater Manchester and was chosen to ‘minimise the impact on road users.’

It was not intended to be a Christmas tree, but the Council said members of the community were keen to have lights on it. 

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council said the spruce would benefit the community for ‘many years to come’ once it reached its full potential.

Zoe Gough, 64, pictured next to the tree and pretending it is the leaning tower of Pisa

Zoe works in a supermarket near the tree and said residents had compared it to a ‘pipe cleaner’

The tree is located on a roundabout in Stockport and was chosen to ‘minimise the impact on road users’

Residents have branded the tree as the ‘worst in the UK’

But residents are not happy, with some labelling it as a ‘disgrace’ and joking that the council has ‘declared war’ on Christmas.

Zoe Gough, 64, who works at a supermarket facing the tree, said: ‘I see it every day.

‘Customers come in and see the tree and say ‘What’s that?’ It’s ‘blink and you miss it’.

‘People say it looks like a pipe cleaner. It’s just there and it’s wonky. I think it looks like it’s had a bit too much to drink.

‘The lights aren’t very good on it. But it’s made us laugh and it’s better than nothing.’

People took to social media to share their thoughts on the less-than-festive fir, which has almost no extended branches.

Some residents joked the council had ‘declared war’ on Christmas

Zoe said the tree looks like ‘it looks like it’s had a bit too much to drink’

One person defended the tree saying it needed time to grow, noting the ‘great’ and good’ of the world were once children 

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council said the spruce would benefit the community for ‘many years to come’ once it reached its full potential

One person wrote: ‘It is a disgrace this Christmas tree. Years ago it was really nice and colourful.

‘It is probably the worst Christmas tree in the whole of the UK. 

‘Stockport spend stupid money on cycle paths. Go to Crewe Market Hall, the trees are lovely.’

Another chimed: ‘It’s an absolute disgrace.

‘They’ve got a beautiful tree outside St George’s Church, far better than the branch thing we’ve been subjected to.’

‘I think the wind just blew it down the road from an actual tree…. surely that’s not it,’ said another.

Zoe said the lights on the tree are not very good, but it as made people laugh

The tree was not intended to be a Christmas tree but the Council said the community were keen to have lights on it

The newly-planted tree is a living picea omorika Serbian spruce tree and replaced a dead tree

One person joked: ‘The battle lines for the war on Christmas have been drawn.’

Defending the tree, one person said: ‘If its planted and alive, it will grow. Give it time. The great & good of this world were once children.’

It comes two weeks after another ‘living’ tree planted by a council in nearby Hattersley was slammed by locals who said it spruce look ‘half dead’.

A spokesperson from Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council said: ‘The main Christmas tree in Bramhall is a tree provided each year in the centre of the village next to the church.

‘The newly planted tree at Bramhall roundabout is a living picea omorika Serbian spruce tree – it replaces a dead tree and has not been intentionally planted as a Christmas tree but the community were keen to have lights on it.

‘The tree will be there for many years to come and was chosen as it is an upright variety, to minimise the impact on road users.

‘As the tree continues to grow over the years it will fill out and benefit the area for future generations by providing an essential habitat for wildlife.’

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