VISITORS from as far away as Australia enjoyed the 2014 Otley Christmas Tree Festival.

Large crowds flocked to All Saints Parish Church last week to view 40 sparkling trees.

The four-day event, which finished on Saturday, also included performances of seasonal music by local bands and school choirs.

Organiser and former Otley Chamber of Trade chairman, Tim Wilkinson, said: “The festival once again experienced a bumper turnout from locals and others who had come from afar.

“The visitors book this year featured people from Castleford, Birmingham, Brisbane and Dusseldorf.

“And the manager of the Otley TSB branch came for a look around and returned an hour later with a cheque for £100 to contribute!”

As always, most of the trees were decorated by local charities and community groups who placed collection buckets underneath. As well as their individual collections, the groups this year also received a contribution from the ‘sharing tree’ bucket, which collected £470.