IT is a village surrounded by flourishing forests so when the local council delivered a community Christmas tree "like a match" the natives were not filled with festive cheer.

IT is a village surrounded by flourishing forests so when the local council delivered a community Christmas tree "like a match" the natives were not filled with festive cheer.

People complained in their droves but Argyll and Bute Council blamed heath and safety for restricting the size of the tree meant to bring the spirit of Christmas into Tarbert.

Officials claimed the village's tree was restricted to 12ft because a bigger one would need longer support ropes and there was no space for them.

But the public outcry continued, centred on the tree's skinny size zero frame, and feelings ran so high that the council has been forced to deliver a replacement.

Steven Hamlin, who runs the All things Tarbert Facebook page, said: "Everybody started phoning the council about it and the council then accepted the complaints, replaced the tree and gave us new Christmas lights."

Jane Knowles, commenting on Facebook, said: "Trees must be hard to get round Tarbert, it's not like we're surrounded by forests full of lovely trees!"

A spokesman for Argyll and Bute Council said the council spends around £100,000 a year providing local communities with Christmas lights and trees.

He claimed the tree delivered to Tarbert was smaller than in other towns because of the limitations of the site, which was small and exposed.

He said: "Public safety is our primary consideration when selecting and siting Christmas trees."

But he added that, after receiving complaints, the council had sent workers to look at the tree.

He said: "We inspected the Tarbert tree and were of the view that it had not transported well from the forest to the site. We arranged to replace the tree."