Christmas tree more than 50ft tall after couple plants it in their garden in 1978

An elderly couple who live in the UK's darkest village have lit up the sky with their Christmas tree which they planted in 1978 - and grew more than 50ft.

Avril and Christopher Rowlands bought the £6 fir from a garden centre shortly after moving into their home.

After their first Christmas in their new house, they planted the 6ft tree in the front garden and took a photograph to commemorate the occasion.

Incredibly, over the years the tree took root and 43 years later the tree now towers over their detached home in the village of Inkberrow, Worcs.

The village, where the 17th century pub inspired The Bull in Radio 4's The Archers, is one of the darkest places in the UK without street lights.

But on Saturday (4/12) the 2,000 residents turned out to see the switching on of the huge tree which could be seen from miles around.

The tree is now so big a cherry picker is needed to help the couple decorate it with 3,000 lights ahead of the big switch on.

The lit-up tree is now the only landmark visible in the village over the festive season.

Retired TV writer Avril, 75, said: "Inkberrow is one of the only villages in the UK which has no street lights so when the tree is lit up it really is quite a spectacle.

"The tree has become a big part of our lives and the switching on of the lights has become quite a village tradition.

"A lot of people in the village say that it's the start of their Christmas.

"We even get cards addressed to the tree which is quite sweet."

“Last year had to do the switch on by ourselves and post the pictures on Facebook because Covid restrictions were in place.

“It’s been wonderful to see so many people enjoy the lights this year.

"We were still cautious this year. The road slopes so people could still view the switch on and be distanced from each other.

"We've had fireworks too this year, plus who a friend who brought down a trailer which had Christmas music on.

"We switched on the lights and have asked people to donate to charity online.”

Avril and Christopher chose Cancer Research for their donations after a close friend died from the disease this year.

The couple say they are still stunned by the size of the tree which grows more than 1ft each year.

Avril added: "We moved up to the village from London in 1978 for a more meaningful life.

"We saw that the local post office had a Christmas tree which was covered in fairy lights and it really stood out.

"When Christmas was over that year we didn't want to just throw the tree out so we planted it in the front garden.

“We had no idea just how big it would grow. It’s absolutely huge now and towers over our house.”

Christopher, a retired BBC editor said: "We realised the tree was growing taller and taller and getting more and more attention, so we decided we'd like to use it to raise money for charity.”