Tree surgeon helps save the day

A tree surgeon came to the aid of a charity after it was forced to cancel its Christmas tree recycling scheme.

The Pilgrims Hospice-run annual effort is normally a huge fundraiser, however it had to be called off this year due to Covid.

When the team at Smeethbased landscaping company A.J. Services heard this, they decided to come to the rescue.

The effort mostly fell on owner Andy Hall, wife Louise and close friend Gina, who wanted to help having had various connections to the late-life charity.

Pick-ups were spread across much of south Kent - and even included Rye in East Sussex.

In all, the group collected about 180 trees, using their machinery to turn them into mulch for use in the landscaping side of the business.

In the process, they raised more than £1,000.

Mr Hall, 52, said: “It’s not a bad sum and it all helps during this really difficult year.”

Andy Hall and the A.J. Services team have been hard at work collecting Christmas trees in aid of the Pilgrims Hospice