October 13, 2011

An Oxford Christmas tree grower has scooped the top prize in a national tree competition and will now see one of his trees take up residence outside 10 Downing Street.

Andrew Ingram of Greenfield Farm, Watlington, Oxfordshire, won the coveted title of Champion Christmas Tree Grower 2011 at the 13th Annual British Christmas Tree Growers Association (BCTGA) Tree Competition at Yattendon near Newbury, on October 13.

Andrew will now have the honour of delivering an outdoor Christmas tree to stand outside 10 Downing Street in London this December.

The competition was divided into five categories: pine, fir, spruce, container growth and wreaths. Each finalist could submit two of any one species per category and all trees entered were between 1.8m and 2.2m in height. The judges scored the trees on their foliage, colour, shape and marketability to determine the overall winner.

 Andrew said: “We’re delighted to win such a prestigious award – it makes all the hard work we put into growing our trees so worthwhile. We can’t wait to visit Downing Street in December and have our tree stand outside one of the country’s most famous residences.”

Roger Hay, secretary for the BCTGA added: “Our tree competition is always popular with our members and this year was no different. The standard of the entries this year was extremely high but Andrew presented a fabulous tree that met the judging criteria perfectly. We’re looking forward to seeing his tree delivered to Downing Street in the next few months.”

The BCTGA was established in 1979 to provide a quality standard for Christmas tree growers in the UK and champions the purchase of real sustainable Christmas trees.

For more information about the BCTGA visit www.bctga.co.uk or twitter.com/bctga.