A CHRISTMAS tree festival in Newton Poppleford’s pavilion at the weekend boosted the village’s hopes of celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee by �452.

The event attracted around 120 people on Saturday and Sunday and boasted a total of 23 entries from local businesses and organisations.

A fundraising and organising committee hopes to raise �5,000 to so Newton Pop can mark the jubilee next year with four days of celebrations, a marquee and various events.

Committee member David Zirker said of the tree festival: “It’s a brilliant event and a shame more people didn’t come.”

An eye-catching tree made by Woodley’s Joinery apprentice, Ed Downs, was so popular it was raffled off and raised �95.

An additional �52 was raised for Devon Air Ambulance from a memory tree.