THERE was anger today after axemen felled a fully decorated 35ft Christmas tree at a village park.

The huge tree at Holden Park, Oakworth, complete with hundreds of pounds of illuminations, was chopped down.

The Friends of Holden Park believe it may have been axed accidentally instead of a condemned spruce which stood nearby and had been marked with red paint.

The group has spent some £1,000 on decorating the tree, even hiring a cherry picker to hang the lights and chairman Jackie McGinnis said she was shocked and furious at what had happened.

"I feel really, really angry at what's happened - people are missing the tree already," she said.

"It would have been extremely difficult not to notice dozens of lights on it - and the other tree had bright red dots on it.

"It's appalling."

The blunder was discovered by Oakworth Village Society secretary Janet Armstrong as she left her granddaughter's fifth birthday party in the nearby Methodist Church hall at 1.45pm yesterday.

"As I walked past the park I looked in to check the bust of Sir Isaac Holden was on its plinth as I was instrumental in having it put at the entrance.

"I saw a wagon and machinery and two blokes in hard hats so I went over and said, sort of jokingly 'I do hope you haven't chopped down the tree with the lights on it?'

"They said 'yes we have'

"I said 'I don't believe you' but I looked over and sure enough there was a great gaping wound in the ground where the tree had been."

Mrs Armstrong asked what had happened to the lights and was told by the contractors they had been safely put under another tree.

"By this time I was totally incensed and said who gave you the authority to do this?

"The said they had just done what it said on the paperwork.

"I was devastated and absolutely distraught so I went home to try and find out what had happened and rang everyone in tree services at Bradford Council."

Bradford Council is yet to comment, but is understood to be investigating the incident.