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Is This £21,000 'Wizard's Hat Cone' In Leicestershire Britain's Bizarre Christmas Tree

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A village parish council has come under stiff criticism for the bright blue Christmas tree they have erected to celebrate the festive period.

This odd-looking decoration cost the council an eye-watering £21,000 over a period of three years.

The residents of Birstall in Leicestershire have derided the tree calling it ‘shoddy’ and ‘downright rubbish’ .

Others have made the observation that it looks more like Mickey Mouse’s wizard hat in the Disney film Fantasia than a traditional Christmas fir.

Former Birstall district councillor Simon Sansome, 33, who started a petition against the cone, said: ‘There were complaints last year about how bad the Christmas tree was, so we expected the parish council to up its game.

‘But instead they’ve come up with this. We want it removed immediately and replaced with a traditional Christmas tree.‘

This controversial cone has been hired by Birstall Parish Council for three years at a cost of £6,196 per year, plus £2,600 storage costs.


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This blue cone costs £6,196 per year, plus £2,600 storage costs (Picture: NTI)

The authority defended the move and council clerk Sue Coulson said most of the cost would be covered by excess funds from other ventures.

Ms Coulson said: ‘We set aside £8,000 for election costs which we never used, so that’s a third of the cost covered straightaway.

‘And if you break it down it works out at 71p per year for each person on the electoral role.

‘We’ve been laughed and joked at on social media. And we were heavily criticised last year for the poor quality of the real tree we had - it’s upsetting a lot of staff here.

‘It seems we’re damned whatever we do.’

So what are your thoughts?