CHRISTMAS spirit has been dashed in Lifton as parish councillors have been left perturbed by a new charge to put up a Christmas tree on the green.

Parish councillors have, for several years, put up a tree on the village green, for the benefit of the community, usually with a donated tree and lights paid for by the council.

But this year, the council was told if it was to put up a tree it would incur a charge of £45 from Devon County Council.

Parish councillor Tim Sutton-Woodhouse said: 'We have only put up a tree for the last four or five years, but it has become an established tradition.

'We have a lot of people looking forward to the tree and many people pass comments about how nice it looks — it is just a nice community thing to do.

'But now DCC has decided to charge us to do this. As a parish council our budgets are extremely tight and some of us have already put money in from our own pockets.

'To find that someone wants to ruin it for us is really disappointing. It goes against the Christmas ethos.'

Mr Sutton-Woodhouse said despite the extra charge, parish councillors 'put their hands in their pockets' and have put up the tree so as not to let the villagers down.

A spokesperson from Devon County Council said: 'Anybody who wants to put up seasonal decorations such as Christmas trees and lights on land which is public highway, must first apply for permission.

'We have previously been able to administer this process free of charge, but with ongoing government cuts reducing our budget, we can no longer afford to do this and have to make a small charge to cover the administration costs.'