Christmas trees used to save Constantine Bay sand dune

Old Christmas trees are bringing new life to a sand dune in Cornwall.

Volunteers have been using donated trees in Padstow's Constantine Bay in a bid to fight climate change.

Community group Beach Guardian said it would help to protect sand dunes and prevent flooding and costal erosion.

The trees would act as a "natural barrier", retaining the sand in their branches and preventing the dune from falling apart, it said.

That, in turn, would provide stability for fauna to grow, it added.

Emily Stevenson, from Beach Guardian, said: "Without having the trees in place keeping the sand in place, this would be entirely flat, so we're losing our protection against flooding, we're losing our protection against coastal erosion.

"It's really important we do all we can to preserve this system."

The trees have been dragged across the beach and placed in a trench.

Similar schemes have been carried out in Cornwall, including at Fistral beach and at Porthtowan.

Over the last four years, more than 300 trees have been planted across the county, holding up to 2,000 tonnes of sand, organisers said.

Jolyon Sharpe, countryside officer for Cornwall Council, added: "This is a nature-based solution to tackle climate change.

"Effectively, sea level rise is going to result in the erosion of the coastline and these dune systems are a natural first line of defence."

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