A POST-Christmas recycling initiative has raised a treemendous £3,500 for a Stourbridge charity.

The Oldswinford charity spent the first weekend of 2018 travelling between DY5 and DY9 post codes collecting Christmas trees from the homes of supporters in exchange for a donation towards the care of the families relying on the hospice.

Fundraisers first launched the Christmas Treecycle event in 2017, collecting 66 trees, but the demand for the service skyrocketed as more than 500 bookings flooded in for 2018.

Laura Millard from Mary Stevens Hospice said: “We saw the bookings climbing and climbing throughout last year and to see the response of our supporters to this initiative has been overwhelming.

"We're so grateful to everyone who booked and to all the support we received to make the weekend possible."

The hospice received an array of support from volunteers and corporate supporters including Enterprise Van Hire, who donated a van for the weekend, and MSC Industrial Supply Ltd, who provided a van, teams of volunteers, top-of-the-range saws and gardening gloves to ensure the hospice was able to run the event smoothly and safely.

Louisa Gibbs, HR co-ordinator at MSC Industrial Supply Ltd, said: “When Mary Stevens Hospice asked us to be a part of their Christmas Treecycle we were delighted to help our chosen charity from the outset."

She said the "gloves and saws made life a lot easier for all the volunteers who helped collect the Christmas trees" and added: "It was our pleasure to be able support hospice patients, families and friends as well as the environment."

All of the trees were taken to Hagley Christmas Trees, which has supported the event in both years and which has committed to recycling all of used festive firs collected.

Incredibly - plans are already being put in place for the hospice's 2019 Treecycle, which will see an additional postcode added to the collection area.

Volunteers have already been signing up help out during the weekend and bookings have opened on the hospice's website, with some supporters having already secured a slot for their 2019 collection.

To book online or find out more visit www.marystevenshospice.co.uk/event/christmas-treecycle-2019.