MORE than 1,300 real Christmas trees were collected across Teesside in the New Year, raising over £12,400 for a hospice.

Teesside Hospice’s popular tree recycling scheme returned to collect real Christmas trees from across the area between January 5 and 7 in return for a donation to the hospice.

The initiative – supported by Northgate Vehicle Hire, Askham Bryan College and organised in partnership with Just Helping – saw six vans and a team of 27 volunteers covering Teesside postcodes from TS1 to TS23.

The collected Christmas trees will now be chipped and recycled by Askham Bryan College and used within the paddocks, the walled gardens and kitchen gardens to create new paths in Stewart Park.

Kim Bradley, Senior Community and Events Fundraiser at Teesside Hospice said: “We are thrilled to have received such fantastic support from the local community for our Christmas tree recycling scheme which has raised over £12,400 for Teesside Hospice.

“This amazing amount will fund more than 48 hours of care at the hospice.

“I would like to say thank you to everyone involved, including all those that registered their tree and made a donation to the hospice.

“A special thank you goes to our team of volunteers who worked tirelessly throughout the weekend to collect and load over 1300 trees. Your support is amazing. The funds raised through this scheme will make a huge difference."