You’ve heard of quality over quantity, but for residents of Bexhill it’s a case of bigger is better after labelling their diddy town centre Christmas tree “a joke”.
Authorities had decided on the 15ft conifer to be their centrepiece in the Sussex town’s central square “due to budget cutbacks”.
However, Bexhill Town Council has now agreed to install a new tree that is 5ft taller after an online backlash against the current tree which is not much higher than the average bus stop.
"I feel like it’s a joke, the Christmas lights are a joke as well,” Bexhill resident Andrew Crotty told ITV News on Thursday.
Another, who did not wish to be named, added: "It’s very bad. Normally they put up a nice big tree, I don’t know why they are putting up a normal small tree like you’d put in a house."
The conifer is far from the 65ft Norwegian spruce on display in London’s Trafalgar Square and in fact is humbled by the surrounding bare trees that line Devonshire Square.
Bexhill mayor Lynn Brailsford pointed out that the cost cutting effort had not been totally made redundant by the pressure to buy a larger tree.
"We thought it, given the economic climate, to get a less extravagant tree,” she told ITV.
"When it arrived, the suppliers had to cut off the trunk which made it look very small and there was quite a big backlash on Facebook.”
She added: "They’re going to give us a refund on the tree. We hope to do the town the justice it deserves."
The 15ft tree was installed last week and is set to be replaced in the coming days.
If you’re not tempted to leave London and take a look for yourself, the capital has light switch on events and is offering these Christmas markets.
