A memorial Christmas tree has been put up in Teignmouth to bring comfort to anyone who has lost a loved one.

The Teignmouth Memorial Message Tree, which is located outside the town’s Methodist Church, offers a place for residents and visitors to add memorial messages, notes of thanks or words of love over the festive period.

This is the eighth year, the town has had a memorial tree. It was the idea of Healthy Pet Shop owner Jo Gask and her late husband Nigel. The couple wanted to pay tribute to their friend Mark, who had passed away from cancer. ‘Mark helped us when we were opening the shop and we wanted to remember him,’ Jo recalled.

The tree took on a more poignant meaning in 2019 after Nigel was killed in a motorbike crash on the Torquay to Teignmouth road.

The tree enables anyone to add a message to the branches as a memorial to a loved one or just to add a lovely thank you message. ‘It is free for anyone who wishes to place a message on it,’ Jo said. ‘Simply put your message in something waterproof and tie it securely to the tree to save them being ruined by the weather,’ she added.

For the first two years, the tree was placed outside Laura Wall’s gallery, but there was no power supply. So, when the Methodist Church agreed to supply the electricity for an illuminated tree, it was moved to its current position.

Jo thanked Teignmouth Town Council for the tree and the Teignmouth Methodist Church for hosting and providing the electricity for it to be lit at night. She also expressed her gratitude to her customers and fellow retailers around the town for their donations and help in getting the tree decorated.