Barrhead Christmas tree removed after it falls over TWICE

The large tree, which was put up last week outside Asda Barrhead Supermarket, is managed and financed by All About Barrhead but was not installed by the organisation, which had asked its suppliers for the same size of tree as in previous years.

James Reilly, from Barrhead, says he saw the tree being put in place on Wednesday, November 23 before it was toppled by the wind for the first time that evening. 

He said he noticed the tree was "much, much bigger" than it had been in previous years. 

The 37-year-old explained: "The first time they put it up I was working that night and the tree surgeons came in and asked us if that was the right place the tree goes.

"I said to them 'it’s the right place but that tree’s much, much bigger than in previous years' and the tree surgeon said ‘yeah we thought that, the fitting that’s in the ground is for a 25ft tree' and he said that that one is a 65ft tree.

"So he said they had to shave the trunk to get it to fit in the hole but it would be fine because they secured it with cables.

"That night it was quite windy in Barrhead and when we left the tree was down, no idea when it had fallen, so I thought ‘oh for god’s sake’."

The tree was put back up on Friday before it fell over again on Saturday evening. 

James says it's "lucky" the tree didn't fall again until after Barrhead's Winter Wonderland which partly took place on the square near the tree during the day on Saturday.

He said: "I think a lot of people are just happy it didn’t fall during the fair because of the amount of people that were outside the shop.

"There were funfair rides and stuff there as well so there were a lot of kids and it’s right at the corner on the main street so if it had fallen towards the pavement it would have been right across the road.

"We’re just lucky the twice it did fall it fell onto a grass verge that’s next to the Barrhead Foundry.

"If it fell any other direction it could have caused a real accident."

The tree has now been removed and replaced with a smaller one, and it is hoped a permanent tree will be planted at the site in future. 

James joked: "I was just stumped that they couldn’t get to the root of the problem."

A spokesperson for All About Barrhead said: "The tree - and all Business Improvement District (BID) activity - is managed and financed by the local businesses of the town who are making an effort to promote Barrhead as a positive place to work, live, shop and visit. 

"Each year we invest in a tree that we hope will be the centrepiece of our festive lighting and were extremely impressed with what our supplier was able to provide this year.

"Unfortunately the size of the tree was a little too grand, coupled with the wind we experienced overnight, it has toppled on two occasions.

"We asked our supplier for the same size of tree as we’ve had in previous years - it was upsized without any direction from us.

"The tree has now been replaced with a 20ft tree and we will be looking at planting a permanent tree in this location moving forward."