MORE than 3,000 visitors visited St Barnabas church in Bromborough for the annual Christmas tree festival.

The church hosted more than 80 trees this year each decorated by community groups, charities and businesses from across the borough.

The festival, which is in its eighth year, saw a record number of visitors and trees.

Jenny Gillies, Rector at St Barnabas Church, told the Globe: “I was delighted to see that we managed to attract a record number of visitors at our tree festival this year. It’s something I wanted to set up when I first came to Bromborough 10 years ago and has only been able to become the event it is today thanks to our amazing volunteers and the willingness of the community to get involved. My favourite part is the set up day before we open.

“Seeing so many different parts of Bromborough come together is an amazing thing to be part of. Welcoming so many visitors into church and seeing their faces when they see the trees is wonderful. It’s one of my proudest achievements as rector.”

The trees were available to view for a week, with visitors voting for the three trees that were their favourite. The competition winner this year was by G Force Dance. The top 10 trees voted for will stay on display in the church for the duration of the Christmas period, alongside the collection of large trees reaching up to 15ft.

Now the festival is over, the church is moving on to its community Christmas feeding project. The church and its volunteers, including members of the Bromborough Village Community Association, will assemble food hampers and gifts for those needing support this Christmas.

This project is done in partnership with the local schools in Bromborough, and this year with the help of grants from the National Lottery Community Fund and DWP via Wirral Borough Council. Over 100 families will be supported with food, gifts and essential supplies.