Every Christmas tree tells a story at festival

Katy Cowell has decorated a tree to remember children who have died

Organisers are putting the finishing touches to one of Britain's biggest Christmas tree festivals.

With 150 decorated trees, the festival at Beverley Minster is thought to be the largest held in a church.

It is a spectacular setting, with trees lining nearly all the interior walls of the medieval building.

The festival will open daily until Sunday.

It is a huge community event, involving schools, charities and local families.

Every tree tells its own story – and some have very special reasons for being put on display.

Katy and Paul Cowell have decorated a fir with golden angels, made from sculpted wire.

Each angel has a star attached with the name of a child who has been lost. It will raise awareness of Abbie’s Fund, the charity the couple set up in their own daughter’s name.

Mrs Cowell said: “Our tree this year is called 'Feathers Appear When Angels Are Near'.

“We set Abbie’s Fund up 14 years ago in memory of our daughter, who was born sleeping at 38 weeks gestation, and we've had a tree here every year since the festival started.

“She was a beautiful little girl, but she just didn’t survive.”

Karen Simpkin recycles flowers which might otherwise be thrown away

Much of the charity’s work is creating memory boxes for bereaved families who have lost babies, children and parents.

Ms Cowell said decorating the tree with children’s names was “a privilege".

"Parents always fear that their babies are going to be forgotten. And this is a way to remember them.”

Karen Simpkin was there for the first time. Her tree is decorated with fresh flowers and baubles filled with petal confetti.

Some blooms have come from a donated bridal bouquet. Others were gifted by a son and daughter from their mother's funeral.

“It’s a representation of the community on this tree,” said Ms Simpkin, who runs the Flower Box.

Sarah Lacy and Claire Raper with their pygmy therapy goats, Kobbie, Harry and Darwin

All the flowers have been upcycled. Some might otherwise have ended up in animal feed or rubbish bins.

Ms Simpkin said: "We get donations from people and from supermarkets. I’m out early or late picking up rescued flowers so we can turn them round very quickly.

“They would just wither, they would be left to fade away. When you look at a fair trade rose from Ethiopia in Africa, how can it go to animal feed?"

Sarah Lacy and Claire Raper also have a tree. They needed to pop outside to see their goats.

The three trainee therapy goats were not allowed inside the minster during all the decorating. But they attracted a lot of attention from passers-by

“Why bring the goats? Why not?,” laughed Ms Lacy.

There are 150 trees in the festival

Their charity, Ascend, helps people with special educational needs as well as those suffering from mental health issues, such as anxiety. They have a number of therapy animals.

“We've also got horses, guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens,” explained Sarah.

Cuddling the goats, she added: “A lot of children in inner cities and more socially deprived areas aren't quite sure what these animals are.

"We've been asked if they're dogs, if they're big cats – things like that. So it's nice for the children to know about all the different animals.”

Opening times

The Beverley Christmas Tree Festival runs daily from until Sunday.

Opening times are:

• Wednesday: 09:00 to 17:00

• Thursday: 09:00 to 20:00

• Friday: 09:00 to 17:00

• Saturday: 09:00 to 16:00

• Sunday: 09:00 to 17:00

Entry is £5 on the door, with cash and cards accepted. Accompanied children go free. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing time.

Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.