Christmas tree shortage after hottest summer on record

For most, they are the festive period’s centrepiece – covered in baubles and tinsel, with a haul of presents waiting below.

But the perfect Christmas tree may be no more than a pipe dream this year, as the hottest summer on record has scorched crops.

The long-lasting high temperatures have put enormous stress on the trees, leaving some with burnt branches and deformed tops.

Growers have also seen many saplings, planted in the spring, die from the hot weather.

It means Britons flocking to garden centres and farms in December may find the ideal fir particularly hard to come by.