PEOPLE are being warned not to be alarmed if they spot mysterious piles of Christmas trees in car parks in the new year.

A new scheme in 2017 will see Reading Borough Council collecting unwanted Christmas trees - once the Yuletide festivities are finished.

Starting on January 2, scores of car parks will be freed up for people to dispose of their trees, which will be chipped down and used for various landscape projects across Reading.

They include:

• Mapledurham Playing Fields

• Clayfield Copse

• Hills Meadow

• Rivermead Leisure Complex

• Kensington Road Recreation Ground

• Prospect Park

• Meadway Recreation Ground

• Tilehurst allotments, Armour Hill

• Palmer Park Sports Stadium

• Whitley Wood Recreation Ground

• Academy Sports Leisure Centre, Northumberland Avenue