A much-loved Gloucestershire charity which helps people with life-limiting illnesses needs urgent assistance to help it collect unwanted Christmas trees - and raise more than £20,000.

Stroud district-based charity Longfield, which supports more than 700 people, has seen unprecedented numbers sign up to its Christmas tree doorstep collection scheme collection and recycling service.

For each tree collected its owners make a donation to the Minchinhampton charity, and this year it is in line to raise some £10,000 more than last year.

Demand has risen so dramatically this year that it is now in urgent need of assistance - vehicles and manpower - to collect all of the trees during the dates it advertised, from January 10 to 15 and make good on the potential donations.

"This is more of a call to action for support due to the huge number of households in the county that have registered their Christmas trees, which is great for Longfield regarding income raised which looks like it is around £21,000 which is £10,000 more than last year," said Chris Knight, Longfield's corporate partnerships manager.

"This year we have 2,352 trees to collect compared to 1,300 hundred in January 2018.

"All funds raised will help support the services we deliver for people who have been diagnosed with a life-limiting illness or need end of life care. The average donation for collecting a tree this year is £8.93."

Collections are mainly in the Stroud, Dursley, Wotton-under-Edge, and Cirencester areas.

Longfield is the largest hospice-at-home provider in the county.

To find our how you can help call Longfield on 01453 886868 or email chris.knight@longfield.org.uk .

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