Christmas 2021: Here's how you could end up with a £5,000 fine for making this simple mistake when collecting your Christmas tree

Festive adverts are on the TV, seasonal classics are playing on the radio and the halls are being decked.

But Christmas wouldn’t be complete without a tree.

If you prefer to get yourself a real tree instead of an artificial one – that can be safely stored from January to December – there are plenty of places you can go in and around Portsmouth.

But drivers are being warned that if you aren’t careful when bringing the tree home, you could end up with a hefty fine.

The area where you could run foul of the law is in the way you transport the tree.

Daily Post reports that GoodBye Car revealed that the motoring offence you’re most likely to commit while transporting a Christmas tree is CU5.

Under this offence, it means you are causing or are likely to cause danger by reason of load or passengers.

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As a result you could end up with three penalty points on your driver’s licence – and these can stay on your driving record for between four and 11 years.

According to the reports you could end up with a £5,000 discretionary fine under ‘careless and inconsiderate driving’.

Goodbye Car’s Operations Manager, Mark Royal, says: ‘Driving your Christmas tree home is an important one to get right for the safety of yourself and others, but with the right knowledge, it shouldn’t be a difficult job.

‘Fines can easily be avoided if you properly secure the tree to the roof of your car.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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