Volunteers have decided to only light up the top half of a town’s Christmas tree to prevent “louts and yobbos” from damaging it.

Photographs of the fir in Market Place in Faversham were shared online by residents who thought it had not been fully decorated.

But Steve Sherlock, who runs Faversham’s Christmas lights committee, says the decision was made to just illuminate the top half of the tree to thwart vandals.

“If we put them any lower, louts and yobbos like to pull them off and play football with them,” he said.

“It’s happened in the past many, many times. We’ve previously had the light bulbs smashed.

“One year, the lights were pulled so much that the tree was nearly broken in half.

“We just don’t waste our time or money anymore putting them any lower.”

Mr Sherlock says wrapped boxes placed around the bottom of the fir had also been targeted by vandals in previous years.

The lights on the town centre Christmas tree have been arranged like this for the last couple of years.

“They weren’t taken off last year when we had them like that,” he added. “It would be my greatest wish to be able to decorate that tree beautifully. It’s such a shame we can’t do it properly.”