Trafalgar Square Christmas tree arrives at Port of Immingham - BBC News
The 70-year-old Norwegian spruce grew near Oslo and is destined for Trafalgar Square in the capital.
The Norwegian spruce arrived at the Port of Immingham after its journey from Scandinavia

A giant Christmas tree destined for London's Trafalgar Square has arrived in England.

The 62ft (19m) Norwegian spruce grew in Nordmarka, the forests north of Oslo, and will be officially unveiled in the capital next Thursday.

The tree, which is sent each year as a token of thanks for Britain's support during World War Two, is at the Port of Immingham after arriving by boat.

It will undergo checks before being taken to London on Saturday.

Jonathan Lowden, DFDS Seaways director of operations at Immingham Terminal, called the cargo its "VIT - very important tree".

"It's something we've done for a number of years now and something we're very proud of," he said.

"We put it onto our vessel in our Brevik terminal on Monday. It sailed and stopped at Gothenburg en-route."

The tree has been sent as a gift from Norway to Britain since the end of World War Two

A haulier will collect the 70-year-old tree on Saturday and take it down to London ahead of installation on Monday.

"We've been looking after it since it arrived, it's nice and protected in one of our dock sheds," Mr Lowden told BBC Radio Lincolnshire.

"The weather is cold at the minute so it's currently almost in its natural habitat, we had a bit of snow yesterday so that helped as well."

The tree grew for 70 years in the forests north of Oslo in Norway

The tree will be decorated in traditional Norwegian fashion with vertical strings of energy-efficient lights, Westminster Council said.

This year marks the 76th anniversary of King Haakon VII sending the first spruce to London.

When Norway was invaded in 1940, the king sought refuge in Britain and the Norwegian government-in-exile was established in London.

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