BIDFORD’s annual Christmas Tree Festival has been hailed as a great success, raising more than £2,500 for St Lawrence Church a combination of donations, and money taken from tea and cake sales, and a prize raffle.

41 trees were entered into the festival with 565 of the visitors voting on their favourites in the various categories, from individual and family efforts, to those dressed by community groups and organisations and trees designed by local businesses.

The festival, which is now in its 16th year, ran at the church in Bidford on Saturday and Sunday, with a performance from the Bidford on Avon Community Choir entertaining visitors on Sunday afternoon.

Winning trees from each category ranged from two winning snowmen trees, ‘There’s ‘Snow’ Tree like This Tree’ created by the Squires family and ‘FrosTree the Snowman’ decorated by the Gosling Toddler Group, to a tree made entirely from books which won Bidford Community Library the Group/Organisation category.

The overall winner had a somewhat unusual culinary theme. ‘Baking up the Christmas Tree’ was made entirely from dog treats and submitted by local firm Riverside Grooming.

One of the organisers, Fiona Buxton, said: “Already we have people putting their names down for the next Bidford on Avon Christmas Tree Festival.”