More than 3,000 Caring Christmas Trees were sold during the festive season

Shoppers purchased thousands of Christmas trees to help provide support for homeless people in December.

Scottish charity the Bethany Christian Trust sold 3,177 Caring Christmas Trees to residents and businesses across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Glasgow and Fife.

All funds raised from the initiative, a social enterprise that has been running for 15 years, go directly towards the charity’s care shelter and other winter projects. Bethany’s shelter provides a hot meal and a safe place to sleep for those with nowhere to go during the coldest months of the year.

Iain Gordon, chief executive of the trust, said: “Hundreds of people had somewhere warm and dry to spend Christmas. Thanks to the incredible generosity of people who bought a Caring Christmas Tree, Bethany can support and care for people who would otherwise have been sleeping rough over the festive season.”

Established in 1983, Bethany Christian Trust supports over 7,000 people across Scotland. The charity’s services focus on preventing homelessness as well as alleviating the suffering of people who are homeless.