THE Fylde may have missed out on a white Christmas, but local residents still have a chance to celebrate a green New Year.

Recycled Christmas trees are to be chipped and used on woodland path, turned into mulch for local parks or used in sand dune preservation work.

Fylde Borough Council is hoping to better its total of 1,400 Christmas trees -- up 57 per cent on the previous year.

If they had been laid end to end, the trees would measure 12 times the height of Blackpool Tower!

Cllr Alf Jealous, chairman of the leisure and recreation committee, said: "People in Fylde are very proud of our parks, and visitors travel from far and wide to enjoy them.

"I would like to encourage everybody who has a discarded tree, to take it to one of our several deposit points, and contribute directly to keeping our parks and green spaces well maintained.

Cllr Particia Fieldhouse, chairman of the environment committee, added: "Last year was a fantastic year for recycling in Fylde and I would like to say a huge thank you to the borough's residents for all their hard efforts.

"In 2004 we're hoping to further increase the levels of recycling in Fylde, and this is a great way to get started."

Christmas trees can be deposited for recycling at the following sites until Sunday January 17th: St Annes (Ashton Gardens, St George's Rd entrance), Lytham (Lowther Gardens car park), Fairhaven (Stannah car park), Freckleton (Tom Croft car park), Kirkham (Safeway car park), Newton (Village Hall), Staining (Community Centre) and Elswick (Community Centre).

Fylde Borough Council is also recycling used Christmas cards, with deposit boxes available in reception at St Annes town hall.