Stockport is leading the latest charge for the UK’s most tragic festive fir, with residents branding the tree a ‘disgrace’.

The 12ft slender spruce has sparked outrage among locals who say it resembles a ‘pipe cleaner’ and ‘looks like it’s had a bit too much to drink’. 

The tree was planted on a roundabout in the town and was chosen to ‘minimise the impact on road users.’

It was not intended to be a Christmas tree, but the Council said members of the community were keen to have lights on it. 

Zoe Gough, 64, pictured next to the tree and pretending it is the leaning tower of Pisa

Zoe works in a supermarket near the tree and said residents had compared it to a ‘pipe cleaner’

The tree is located on a roundabout in Stockport and was chosen to ‘minimise the impact on road users’

It comes after locals in Willenhall, West Midlands, hit back at Walsall Council for their town’s spindly 20ft tree.

The ‘pathetic’ attempt at the Christmas tree infuriated locals, who say it makes residents in the town look like scrooges. 

Patricia Walton, 75 (pictured) stood next to Willenhall’s Christmas tree put on the Lock Worker’s Memorial by a busy junction 

Residents compared the tree to a ‘beanstalk’ and labelled it a ‘waste of money’.

Baffled locals in Denton, Greater Manchester, took to social media to complain about ‘shocking’ lights on two trees in their town centre.

Existing trees near to the Christmas tree in the town square have also been decorated with lights, but two of these sets appear to have a handful of working bulbs on them.

Only a handful of fairy lights appear to work in a set draped around a tree in Denton town centre in Greater Manchester

A Tameside Council spokesman said they had erected an official Christmas tree in the town centre but denied having anything to do with the lights added to the existing trees nearby.

Tameside Council has also vowed to replace a tree in nearby Hattersley after backlash from locals there.

The ‘living tree’ was planted outside The Hub, a community centre on Stockport Road, but the threadbare spruce hasn’t thrived.

Residents have reacted in fury over a ‘shocking’ Christmas tree that has been put up in Hattersley in Hyde

Meanwhile, the BBC has come under fire for its own Christmas tree outside its Broadcasting House in Portland Place in London.

Employees of the broadcaster criticised the tree, calling it a ‘bit stark’, while another joked that ‘very very little time or licence fee money was spent’ on the spruce which is noticeably different in comparison to previous years.

The BBC has also come under fire for its own Christmas tree outside its Broadcasting House in Portland Place in London

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council said the roundabout spruce would benefit the community for ‘many years to come’ once it reached its full potential.

But residents are not happy, with some labelling it as a ‘disgrace’ and joking that the council has ‘declared war’ on Christmas.

Zoe Gough, 64, who works at a supermarket facing the tree, said: ‘I see it every day.

‘Customers come in and see the tree and say ‘What’s that?’ It’s ‘blink and you miss it’.

‘People say it looks like a pipe cleaner. It’s just there and it’s wonky. I think it looks like it’s had a bit too much to drink.

‘The lights aren’t very good on it. But it’s made us laugh and it’s better than nothing.’

People took to social media to share their thoughts on the less-than-festive fir, which has almost no extended branches.

Residents have branded the tree as the ‘worst in the UK’

Some residents joked the council had ‘declared war’ on Christmas

Zoe said the tree ‘looks like it’s had a bit too much to drink’

One person defended the tree saying it needed time to grow, noting the ‘great’ and good’ of the world were once children 

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council said the spruce would benefit the community for ‘many years to come’ once it reached its full potential

One person wrote: ‘It is a disgrace this Christmas tree. Years ago it was really nice and colourful.

‘It is probably the worst Christmas tree in the whole of the UK. 

‘Stockport spend stupid money on cycle paths. Go to Crewe Market Hall, the trees are lovely.’

Another chimed: ‘It’s an absolute disgrace.

‘They’ve got a beautiful tree outside St George’s Church, far better than the branch thing we’ve been subjected to.’

‘I think the wind just blew it down the road from an actual tree…. surely that’s not it,’ said another.

Zoe said the lights on the tree are not very good, but it has made people laugh

The tree was not intended to be a Christmas tree but the Council said the community were keen to have lights on it

The newly-planted tree is a living picea omorika Serbian spruce tree and replaced a dead tree

One person joked: ‘The battle lines for the war on Christmas have been drawn.’

Defending the tree, one person said: ‘If its planted and alive, it will grow. Give it time. The great & good of this world were once children.’  

A spokesperson from Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council said: ‘The main Christmas tree in Bramhall is a tree provided each year in the centre of the village next to the church.

‘The newly planted tree at Bramhall roundabout is a living picea omorika Serbian spruce tree – it replaces a dead tree and has not been intentionally planted as a Christmas tree but the community were keen to have lights on it.

‘The tree will be there for many years to come and was chosen as it is an upright variety, to minimise the impact on road users.

‘As the tree continues to grow over the years it will fill out and benefit the area for future generations by providing an essential habitat for wildlife.’