A Christmas tree collection service has raised almost £150,000 for charity in the five years since it was launched.

The Coventry and Warwickshire Charity-Christmas Tree Collection visits people’s homes after the Christmas season to collect their trees for recycling.

They do this in return for a donation to charity, with the money raised being split between Myton Hospices and Pass the Smile.

The group has been nominated for BBC Radio CWR’s Make a Difference Awards, which take place in September.

Scott Crowther, one of the organisers, told BBC Radio CWR he was “surprised” by the amount raised, saying it all started with a small group with four vans.

He said they raised about £4,000 in the first year and more than £48,000 in the fifth year, bringing their total to just under £150,000.

“This collection would not be possible without the help of hundreds of people. We have started something that we can no longer stop,” he said.

“We created this giant, unintentional snowball that rolls down the mountain at Christmas time and won’t stop.”

“Very big operation”

Co-organizer Hannah Johnson said the program is run by a small committee of five people.

“But on the collection weekend itself we have about 200 volunteers,” she explained.

Ms Johnson added that it was a “very big operation” but that the volunteers had a lot of fun.

“They’re actually doing something tangible to raise money for charity and people are really happy about it,” she said.

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