Country's 'worst Christmas tree' unveiled to stunned shoppers

Christmas shoppers may have expected a little better when they popped out for a last minute present or two.

Looking forlorn, threadbare and decorated with just a dozen multi-coloured lights, this sorry looking Christmas tree is on display at a shopping centre in County Durham.

The tree is the centre piece for festive celebrations at the Castle Dene Shopping Centre in Peterlee.

Shopping centre bosses got a shock when the tree arrived just hours before pop star Natasha Hamilton, a singer with girl band Atomic Kitten and now a solo artist, switched on the Christmas lights.

Too late to send it back, they could only look on with gritted teeth as Natasha wowed the crowds with a string of hits in front of the tree.

Today it stands in the town centre's Yoden Way festooned in a dozen Christmas lights and slumping slightly under the onslaught of a wet, cold and windy December day.

One shopper said: "It's the worst Christmas tree in the country. I feel like going to Wilkinson's and buying some tinsel and decorating the tree myself."

Local councillor Joan Maslin said she had been inundated with complaints from residents of the town about the state of the tree.

"I would describe this tree as just like a twig. To be honest, it looks like something that people would throw in a skip after Christmas.

"If the shopping centre couldn't have afforded to put up a better Christmas tree they shouldn't have bothered.

"It is an insult to Peterlee. I think they should take it away and throw it in a skip."