LEFTOVER Christmas trees at a Catshill garden centre will be used to create a 'tree-mendous' new enclosure for big cats at Dudley Zoo.

Surplus potted trees from Willowbrook Garden Centre in Stourbridge Road are due to be planted in the new £100,000 extension to the snow leopard enclosure.

The Castle Hill zoo's assistant curator, Jay Haywood, said: “We’re extremely grateful for Willowbrook Garden Centre’s generous donation of more than a dozen potted fir trees, of all shapes and sizes, which is an enormous help to us.

“We’re currently putting the finishing touches to the snow leopard’s enclosure, which we’re aiming to complete by the end of the month and we’ll be replanting the trees into the extension, which will not only provide extra natural coverage for the cats all year round, but will also look aesthetically pleasing for visitors too.”

The trees are the latest donation from Willowbrook Garden Centre, which has also sent plants for some of the zoo's earlier landscaping projects.

A Willowbrook spokesman said: "Dudley Zoo do a great job so we like to support them however we can.

"We've got a member of staff that used to work there so we've sent them non-saleable plants and countryside trees for them to use for the animals."

People can help spruce up animal enclosures by donating unwanted potted evergreens at the zoo's Safari Shop entrance.