A council has been forced to apologise after villagers branded their community Christmas tree a 'disgrace'.
People in Wardle, Rochdale, hit out at the tatty state of a tree delivered to the village ahead of its annual festivities.
The large Christmas tree usually takes centre stage at Wardle's popular Christmas Eve celebrations.
One villager, Wilfred Mellor, said the tree supplied by Rochdale Council wasn't up to standard.
Mr Mellor, 74, said: "I think it's disgraceful.
"It's in a terrible condition. There are broken branches, big holes and a lot of the leaves were dying.
"Christmas Eve in Wardle is a really popular event. We get people coming from all over every year.
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"There's carol singing, a brass band and and everyone congregates around the tree.
"What the council have sent is unacceptable."
John Gaskell, landlord of the Globe in Wardle, added: "There's a great big gaping hole at the back and dead branches.
"It's not up to standard. To be honest, I wouldn't put it up in my back garden."
A spokesman for Rochdale Council agreed the tree was 'substandard'.
A council spokesman said: “We’d like to apologise to the people of Wardle for the substandard condition of their Christmas tree this year.
"We’ll be speaking to our supplier to arrange for a replacement to be installed as quickly as possible.”
