Warrington family's Christmas tree put up every year since 1922

Kathy Firth, 83, said the tree "seemed huge" when she was a child

When this Christmas tree was first put up King George V was on the throne, American Prohibition was in full force and the British Broadcasting Corporation had only just been founded.

Now a family in Cheshire is preparing to celebrate the festive season with the same centrepiece, 98 years and four generations later.

Kathy Firth, 83, admitted it had become "quite tatty" since its debut in 1922.

She inherited it from her parents, and has put up the tree every year since.

Frank and May Wilkinson, from Warrington, were the Christmas tree's first owners after purchasing it from a market in the town.

Ms Firth said she used to "watch with great delight" as her mother lit small candles in its branches, which are made from goose feathers.

"We have dressed it ever since. It's been there all of my life," she said.

"It seemed such a huge tree when I was little."

Ms First said her grandchildren now help to decorate the tree

The first child to gaze on the tree was her eldest brother Frank, and successive siblings helped to decorate it with their mother before Ms Firth came along in the 1930s.

Since 1973 she has decorated it with her own children, and now her grandchildren also help.

Mrs Firth admits the tree looks a little ragged when it is not decorated these days but still plans to honour the family tradition and pass it on to her sons.

She added: "It has got quite tatty as it has got older. It is 98 years old, goodness me.

"It doesn't look anything like it did when I was a child but it is still surviving and, as long as it survives, the tradition of having it as our Christmas tree will go on."