A Christmas tree made from 900 recycled plastic bottles has been unveiled by Ealing Council.

The 6m tall tree, the first of its kind in London, was commissioned by the council and built by artist Ashley Phillips and is on display outside Ealing Town Hall.

The tree is being used to encourage recycling as the festive period generates extra high amounts of litter and waste.

Bassam Mahfouz, Ealing's leader for transport and the environment said: “Astonishingly, the same number of bottles used on the trees is used in the UK every two seconds. We are encouraging residents to take two seconds to recycle.

“The tree is designed to make people think about how much we all consume and how items could be reused. All plastic can be recycled, and is actually a valuable resource used to make all sorts of new products such as fleece jumpers, park benches and children’s playground equipment.

“Christmas is a crucial time for refuse and recycling in the borough. Over the festive period the amount we send to landfill rises by 20 per cent, costing us more than £1million."