The famous Tavistock Christmas Tree Festival has taken delivery of a mini-forest of beloved fir trees on the first step towards creating community magic.

The trees, provided by a Dartmoor grower, were delivered to St Eustachius’ Church covered in netting today (Tuesday) November 26, to be mounted and positioned ready for decorating by a wide range of groups and businesses from the Tavistock area.

The fifteenth festival runs from Friday, November 29 to Sunday, December 8. Entry costs £1 and funds raised go towards the upkeep of the parish church.

Vanessa Bowls, of the Friends of St Eustachius’ Church and festival organiser, said: “This has been a wonderful effort between the Friends of St Eustachius’ and various people giving up their time. We’d like to thank the Co-op Funeral Service for delivering the trees. We look forward to the church becoming a wonderfully colourful festival of light and colour, as it always does. The festival will be a truly imaginative creation by so many community groups and businesses and schools.”

The Friends of Eustachius’ Church thanked the Rev Matt Godfrey (parish priest), James Teague (who stores the trees prior to delivery), David Turner (town crier), Nick Clarke (manager of the fabric of the church), Martin Pendle and Rick Crawford.

The festival will have a ceremonial launch on Friday (November 29) at 2.30pm when a Tavistock Church Schools Federation choir will accompany the switch-on with the Rev Godfrey.