Yorkshire plays host to prestigious competition to supply Downing Street Christmas tree

• Video report by Emma Wilkinson.

A competition to decide who supplies this year’s Christmas tree for Downing Street has been held in Barnsley.

Expert growers from around the country brought their best examples of homegrown trees to the prestigious event.

The star of Channel 5's The Yorkshire Vet, Peter Wright, presented the awards, with the overall winner - Dartmoor Christmas Trees - taking the title of Champion Christmas Tree Grower of the Year 2023.

Owner, Stuart Kirkup, said he was thrilled that one of his trees will stand outside Downing Street this December.

He told ITV News: "You imagine the work that we have to do to a tree every year, we're pruning it, fertilising it, shaping it, sorting the top out and that's not one year, that's every year. So to get one that wins like this is amazing."

Each member of the British Christmas Tree Growers Association was given the chance to vote at the competition, held this year at Billingley Christmas Tree Farm.

As well as the overall champion, there were winners in a number of other categories including the Champion Festive Wreath category.

The winner of that, Friezeland Christmas Tree Farm, will supply the wreath for the door of the Prime Minister’s residence.

Andrew Stenton, who runs Billingley Christmas Tree Farm, said he was very proud to host the event after more than two decades in the industry.

He added: "I'm a third generation farmer here at Billingley and originally it was an arable and beef farm and we had pedigree Charolais cattle. 

"When foot and mouth hit, that devastated the herd and we looked for other options. Christmas trees fit the bill, it was a quiet time of year and here we are today.

"We started with a few signs on the road and sold a few hundred Christmas trees and now we grow and sell thousands."

The chairman of British Christmas Tree Growers Association, Rory Young, said the competition is a chance to celebrate the best of the best and champion local, sustainably-grown trees.

He told ITV News: "We're putting a lot of investment into research, including a trial at the moment looking at how much carbon the trees sequester during their growing period - and we have a good story to tell.

"The trees grown by our members are grown on rotation so for every tree that is cut, at least one is planted in its place.

"And at the end of its use, there are lots of ways to recycle a tree - it's a genuinely sustainable product."

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