Providing Downing Street Christmas tree is 'surreal'

It is one of the most viewed Christmas displays in the country and this year's Downing Street tree will come from a Leicestershire farm.

Cadeby Tree Trust has won the honour of supplying the tree after being crowned champion Christmas tree grower of the year at an annual event organised by the British Christmas Tree Growers' Association (BCTGA).

Foreman Matt Allan-Stubbs said it will be "pretty surreal" to watch the news and see a tree his firm had grown for decades outside the prime minister's residence at Number 10.

"To know that's something that we have planted, grown and nurtured - it's incredible," he added.

Despite a year of unpredictable weather conditions, including one of the driest springs and the hottest summer on record, the farm won numerous awards for its crop at an evening organised by the BCTGA, open to 300 members across the UK.

Mr Allan-Stubbs, 29, said: "It's been a tough growing year, the drought has played a big part in it.

"We've had a lot more failed crops but some of the older trees, you can tell with the colour, they haven't got that deep bottle green that they normally have and the needle growth hasn't been there so it's a lot smaller - the foliage isn't as full.

"We've never won grower of the year, it's the Champions League of Christmas tree growing."

Mr Allan-Stubbs said the company was now responsible for up to five million Christmas trees across the UK, including contract work.

He said: "Over 40 years, going from a handful of trees to now supplying Downing Street is a pretty special thing to happen and we are all really, really proud of that."

The foreman said planting from saplings and using the right soil made a "big difference" to the quality of the trees.

"You have to work with Mother Nature and sometimes she's not on your side," he added.

Mr Allan-Stubbs also said there were ways of prolonging the lifespan of a Christmas tree.

"All of its roots are beneath the ground, so take about an inch off the bottom of the base of the tree, so it's then a fresh cut and that will help the tree absorb water.

"Don't flood it with water. You can also buy devices that tell you when more water is required," he said.

The Downing Street tree has been cut down, netted and was sent to London on Thursday where it will be decorated and displayed.

"It'll be pretty surreal to watch the news and see one of our trees outside Number 10," Mr Allan-Stubbs added.

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