BOURTON'S famous Christmas tree in the river has been at the centre of a row among parish councillors.

The tree, which sits in the River Windrush from the beginning of December each year, is a "unique feature" and attracts visitors to the village, said Cllr Gill Crippen, chairman of the village green bookings committee.

However, Cllr Crippen said there had been "considerable adverse comments" about last year's tree, which cost between £600 and £700 less than the £1,000 it cost to buy and erect the tree in 2006.

"The tree this year was considerably cheaper by some several hundreds of pounds," said Cllr Crippen, who reporting to the parish council last week about a meeting she had with representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, which organises the annual Victorian shopping evening in the village.

"We want to be proud of our village and attract tourists back to our village post the floods," said Cllr Crippen.

"We want to recommend to this council that it is this council's primary responsibility to fund this Christmas tree," she said.

Following discussions with the chamber, Cllr Crippen said her committee would be coming back with further proposals on the Christmas lights.

The floral displays in the village, which are currently silk, should also be the primary responsibility of the parish council and they should be real flowers, she added.

But fellow councillors reacted angrily to the proposals, which were not on the agenda.

"It seems like one group is trying to offload costs on to another," said Cllr Julian Stocker.

Cllr John Teece said: "The tree does come under the late-night Victorian shopping evening."

After a heated debate, it was agreed to discuss the matter at the next council meeting in April.