A METAL Christmas tree in Shipley market place has needled the town's MP Philip Davies into calling it "a monstrosity and an embarrassment."

First installed three years ago , the modern structure saves on an otherwise yearly cost of some £2,000 to install and deck a traditional fir.

And in response to Twitter comments that the town deserves something better, Mr Davies has responded by saying: “The so-called Christmas Tree in Shipley town centre – which isn’t a Christmas tree at all – is an embarrassment and many of my constituents are rightly very upset about it.

"Why can’t Shipley have a proper Christmas tree rather than the artificial monstrosity we currently have?

" I hope Bradford Council will make sure Shipley has a proper Christmas tree.”

However, Barry Cooper, chairman of Shipley town partnership, said he believed criticism was a little harsh and there had been complaints about the real trees used in years past which had also suffered from vandalism.

"When the lights are off during the day then it does look a bit like a collection of scaffolding, however, when it's lit up at night I think it looks lovely," he said.

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