THERE will be no council investigation into the hacking down of a tree at the side of a main road that is decorated annually for Christmas.

As reported, the tree, which is between the slipway and the A35 carriageway in Upton, has been mysteriously cut down.

The tree is decorated annually by an anonymous resident each December but was chopped down while its decorations were still on it.

Dorset Council said it had not cut down the tree, but that it would not be investigating its felling.

The local authority also said decorating the tree ‘is not authorised’ and people doing it were ‘putting themselves at risk’.

Bournemouth Echo: The tree is decorated annually by an anonymous person.

The tree has been removed from the carriageway by the council.

A spokesperson for Dorset Council said: “We were aware of the tree and that it was decorated. Decorating a tree along a carriageway or highway is not authorised and people who are doing this are putting themselves at risk when they are doing it.

“We did not cut this tree down and we will not be investigating it, however we have removed it from the carriageway and secured it safely so that it can't blow onto the carriageway and cause a risk to traffic.”