A mid Essex hospice has thanked the community after revealing its Christmas tree recycling scheme raised over £41,000 for local charities.

Volunteers collected over 2,600 trees from homes across mid Essex - including the Maldon district - over three days at the start of January from residents who had signed up to the Farleigh Hospice scheme.

This year's collection raised the most money yet - at £41,000 - as a testament to the scheme's growth in popularity since starting in 2015, when it raised £3,700 by collecting 450 trees.

Of the money raised, £37,000 will go directly to Farleigh to support its work offering care and support to those affected by a life-limiting illness or bereavement.

The remaining £4,000 will be distributed to other mid Essex charities through the Chelmsford Lions Club.

Debbie de Boltz, fundraising manager at Farleigh, said: "I'd like to say a huge thank you to all of the local businesses and individuals who helped with our collections.

"We couldn't provide this service without the generosity of the people who give their time, vans and equipment to help us.

"Referrals to Farleigh are set to rise even further in 2022, so we really do appreciate the money raised by our community through our tree collection.

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"Thanks to your support, we can continue to care for those affected by life-limiting illness and bereavement throughout this year and beyond."

The collected trees have been shredded into chippings and will now be used for biofuel and turned into materials for pathways for local parks and cemeteries.

Among the Maldon district businesses thanked for their generosity in helping with Farleigh's 2022 collections are Burnham Town Council, Maldon District Council, Burnham Rugby Club, D F Clark, D M Dixon and Son Ltd, Lineout (UK) Ltd and The Limes Viewpoint.

Farleigh worked with charity Justhelping, who provided the logistics programme to allow the hospice to plan its collection routes.