Hospiscare will again be collecting Christmas trees for recycling in January, in exchange for a donation towards the charity's work.

Staff and volunteer helpers will collect the trees from outside people's homes in Exmouth, Honiton, Sidmouth and Ottery St Mary, and take them to local recycling centres.

The pick-ups will take place on Thursday, January 11, Friday 12 and Saturday 13. The recommended donation is £15 per tree.

Collections must be booked by the end of Sunday, January 7 via the Hospiscare website.

The annual Christmas tree recycling scheme is supported by volunteers and local businesses, with last year’s collection raising £24,000.

Laura Robertson, Fundraising Projects Manager at Hospiscare, said: “We are so grateful to our local community for coming together in support of our Christmas tree recycling scheme every year. 2024 is set to be challenging as we face a £2.5 million funding gap, which could force us to axe existing services, making fundraising more important than ever. After the festivities are over, leave the effort of getting rid of your Christmas tree to us and help raise much-needed funds to continue providing our services.”

Hospiscare would also like to hear from any van owners or drivers who would like to volunteer as tree collectors on any or all of the relevant days. Anyone who can help is asked to email treecollection@hospiscare.co.uk.