When you think of Christmas, the thought of crab and lobster pots perhaps do not spring to mind.
But the Wells Christmas tree made from the crustaceans' pots has returned this year at the Quay in the town and has become a festive icon all of its own.
The tree, which originally was a stopgap thought up by the team at the harbour, is back by popular demand after it captured the imagination of the town.
Last year, with a lockdown in place and caught in the limbo of being allowed to meet up and put up decorations, the tree was cancelled.
Using what they had to hand as well as a little festive ingenuity, the town is now the proud home of a 15ft tall ‘tree’ constructed of crab and lobster pots.
The tree is decorated with crabs, fenders, Christmas lights and topped with a star complete with luminous crustaceans.
It also features buoys with names of local boats.
The team from the Christmas Tide Festival and the harbour worked together to create this.
Mel Catton, festival committee member, was amazed by the response to the tree, and the calls to see it return.
“We found the tree had a phenomenal response," he said.
"We are all very pleased, we could not believe the response this tree had in the town. We saw people coming for a walk during the lockdown and the tree was their highlight.
“This year, when we announced that the tide was returning, one of the things we heard over and over again was, ‘is the crab pot tree coming back?’.
“It’s so pleasing that local people are the ones who have come forward and requested it, you can only but follow their lead and honour their request.”
Robert Smith, harbourmaster in the town believes the tree may become a mainstay of the town’s festive period: “We decided that it was so popular that we would do it again and it will now probably be a tradition.
“The amount of love we have got for it is amazing. It is really good, in this day and age, to do something to put a smile on people’s faces.”
The lights on the tree at set to be turned on during the last weekend of November.
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