PEOPLE in the Bromsgrove district have really branched out this year to make it a record one for recycling Christmas trees.

The Yuletide spirit will live on thanks to the area's green keen eco-warriors.

Thousands of people took up Bromsgrove District Council's challenge to recycle their festive firs. This year 15,191 trees were collected for recycling - producing 27.32 tonnes of mulch.

Last year's figure was just over 14,380 trees, making 25.91 tonnes of mulch.

Anna Wardell, the district council's environmental strategy officer, said: "We are delighted that so many eco-friendly families rallied to our call to put their pines to further use after the holiday was over.

"This has been a record year and I would like to thank everyone who joined our recycling campaign and helped us to achieve such a brilliant result."

Staff at the Aston Fields council depot chipped the discarded trees and the mulch will be spread on local flowerbeds and open spaces to bring plenty of colour to the district later in the year.

Praising local residents for their recycling in general, Anna added: "We will soon have finished introducing our new roll-out kerbside recycling collection scheme, which has been very warmly welcomed by householders throughout the district.

"Residents are very keen to recycle what waste they can and their enthusiasm is reflected in the amount of recyclables we are collecting. It has been more than we expected and we are pleased that so many people obviously care about their environment. Please keep up the good work."