A DONATED Christmas tree set to be unveiled at a Westcliff park was stolen the night before residents were due to gather and decorate it. 

The tree, donated by councillor Daniel Cowan and Lydia Hyde, was due to be unveiled to the public on Saturday lunch time after being delivered to Sidmouth Avenue play area on Friday. 

Since being elected to represent the St Laurence Ward in 2019, Mr Coward has donated a community Christmas tree every year and invited residents to come together to decorate it. 

He said he has been left “heartbroken” after someone selfishly stole it. 

He said: “Each year, we try to spread a little festive cheer by donating these trees and they are there for all and anyone can add a decoration.

“To see that someone had selfishly stolen was heart-breaking but also made me incredibly angry.

“This community is full of families who were looking forward to decorating the tree and it was snatched away from them.”

The tree was delivered to the park on Friday, but was stolen by the time residents and Mr Cowan and Ms Hyde arrived at the park on Saturday.

Mr Cowan and Ms Hyde, who stood as Labour’s candidate for St Laurence earlier this year, have been making a host of improvements to the park. 

This has included adding a bench and removing graffiti, with it hoped the Christmas tree would be the final touch to allow resident’s to enjoy the park during the festive period. 

Ms Hyde added how sad it was to see the disappointment on the children’s faces. 

She said: “We’ve never had this issue before when a tree has been donated so we utterly shocked when we found it had been taken.

“It was really sad to see the disappointment on the faces of the children who were there to decorate the tree.”

Since the tree has been stolen, the Toomey BP and the Toomey Motor Group have offered to donate a new tree for the community.

Mr Cowan added: “I hope whomever stole the tree gets coal in their stocking.”