Stakeford pub The Half Moon to keep Christmas tree up for an entire year

The Half Moon Inn at Stakeford wants to install the life-saving piece of kit because the nearest one is currently a 16-minute round trip away.

The Christmas tree will be decorated depending on the time of year, so it has been dressed in time for Burns Night tomorrow.

Other events and holidays which will be celebrated include Valentine’s Day, Easter and Halloween, and anyone who enjoys the displays will be asked to donate to an online Just Giving page.

It is hoped the year-long campaign will raise £1,500.

Robbie Morgan, manager of The Half Moon Inn, said: “This year we will be keeping our tree up through the whole year to raise money for a life-saving defibrillator for the community.

“With the closest defibrillator being an eight-minute walk away from The Half Moon, another defibrillator in our community can only be a positive. Every minute counts in an emergency and if disaster strikes, our community defibrillator may be the closest to you or your loved ones.”

The community and locals of the pub are known for their fundraising efforts, having outdone themselves at the end of 2022 for the charity Christmas For All.

Mr Morgan said: “We received about 20 Christmas tree tags from the local charity Christmas For All.

"Each tag had a Christmas present suggestion from a local child and all the tags were taken within hours of them going on the tree. Our phenomenal customers just kept the gifts coming, despite the suggestion tags being all gone!”