Newcastle’s Christmas tree is now twinkling with festive lights after being rescued from severe damage in Storm Arwen.
The tree came crashing down during the fierce winds over the weekend, collapsing after the base of its trunk snapped.
Sad pictures on Saturday morning showed the broken evergreen lying on its side next to Newcastle Civic Centre.
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But by Monday lunchtime it was back up again in Barras Bridge, after council staff managed to salvage it.
It was then dressed with lights and switched on on Thursday night by Lord Mayor Coun Habib Rahman, his five-year-old son, and Deputy Lord Mayor and Sheriff Coun Karen Robinson.
The lights switch-on was streamed on the council’s social media channels, rather than being a mass in-person event.
Before switching on the lights, Coun Rahman wished the city’s residents a happy Christmas.
The tree is an annual gift to Newcastle from the Norwegian city of Bergen as a symbol of goodwill and gratitude for support and friendship during the Second World War.
Local authority workers took a chainsaw to the fallen tree to remove the section of its trunk that splintered in the 90mph gale, before managing to stand it upright once again.
A Newcastle City Council spokesperson said on Monday: “Due to high winds during Storm Arwen, the Bergen tree snapped sometime between late Friday night and Saturday morning.
“Our tree experts, who have worked incredibly hard over the last few days, have inspected it and managed to save it by removing the damaged section of the trunk and re-inserting it back into the ground.”
The switch-on came on the same day that Newcastle's Christmas market returned for the first time in two years.
A collection of cabins have popped up around Grey’s Monument this week, ready for traders to welcome customers looking for local crafts, festive food, or a glass of mulled wine.
And while this year’s markets will be far smaller than the last time the event was held in 2019, there are still expected to be heavy crowds there and around Newcastle’s busiest shopping areas in the run-up to Christmas.
