Left pining for an eco-friendly Christmas tree

An increase in demand for ecologically-friendly Christmas trees has caused the Forestry Commission to run out of pines to sell this festive season.

A run on trees being sold in the New Forest in Hampshire is believed to have been caused by families wanting to invest in a sustainably sourced tree rather than a fake one. The Forestry Commission has sold out of trees at Moors Valley Country Park and New Park in Brockenhurst.

Head ranger Andrew Norris said: "Our sites are all checked to make sure our trees are sustainably grown, and this year our customers have told us that accountability is important to them."