TRADERS BUY NEW TREE
Three weeks after Froghill’s official tree lighting ceremony ended in disaster, a new tree has been erected in the town centre.
The previous tree suffered an electrical fault and caught fire, toppling over and crushing George Chittling’s car just moments after he threw the switch to illuminate it.
Cutbacks in the Council’s decorations budget meant that there were no funds for a replacement, so local traders decided to club together to buy a new one.
“We felt that something needed to be done,” said Becky Sugar, manager of Sweet-U-Like, “so we had a whip round. We raised a total of £5.37 and used the money to buy a new tree.
"After all, it just wouldn’t be Christmas without a tree, now would it?”
The new tree measures three feet two inches and is made of a weather-resistant PVC-based material. It stands at the junction of High Street and St Alfege Street and is decorated with nine balls and the charred remains of the original fairy.
To prevent a recurrence of last year’s attacks, the new tree has been electrified to deter vandals. As a further precautionary measure, the gift-wrapped ‘presents’ around its base are all booby trapped. Any attempt to tamper with them will result in the perpetrator being sprayed with half a litre of concentrated nitric acid.
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