Christmas tree prices ARE going through the roof but this is just ridiculous



It's going to leave more than a few pine needles on his carpet.

But that's a price Greig Howe is happy to pay for having one of the most stunning Christmas trees ever seen in suburbia.



Thirty-five feet tall, it stretches from the floor of his living room right up through the top of his home.



Festive fun: The 35ft tree that appears to shoot up through all three floors of a house in Dorset

Well, it appears to. In reality Mr Howe has created a breathtaking optical illusion.

The 35-year-old designer spent two days installing the tree in his six-bedroom detached home in Bournemouth to make it look like it had smashed through the ceilings.

To do so, he cut it into three sections with a chainsaw and then enlisted the help of seven friends to put it into place, using ropes.



Greig Howe and his son Harry pose in front of their six-bedroom home, which has been uniquely converted for Christmas



He put the bottom part of the trunk in the front room before squeezing the middle section into the spare bedroom immediately above - after removing the window for access.

The top of the tree, complete with star, was then fixed to the roof - acting as a handy landing signal to Santa when he calls this Christmas.

Mr Howe, who is separated and has three sons, Harry, 11, Roni, three, and one-year-old Finn, said the tree cost more than £250 to buy and install.

Mr Howe in his living room. The skate park designer had to remove a bay window to squeeze the tree into position



And then he had to splash out on the 160 large baubles and 2,000 lights that adorn it.

'I really wanted to give the kids a Christmas they wouldn't forget,' he said.

'From the outside it appears to be one huge tree that has shot up through the ceilings and floorboards and out through the roof.

Harry Howe, 11, sits in the family's spare bedroom that now houses the tree's middle trunk



'People keep stopping and laughing at it and Harry absolutely loves it.'

Mr Howe bought the tree from a private yard in the New Forest, after Harry expressed disappointment with last year's 5ft version.

But he didn't know about his father's plans until he arrived home from school to find the top of the tree apparently sticking out of the roof.



The giant tree spills out of the Howes' home in daylight

He said yesterday: 'I think it looks wicked. Last year we had a tree that was about the same size as me so I asked Dad if he could get a bigger one this year.

'But I didn't think it would be this big. I came home and couldn't believe it when I saw it. I couldn't speak. I really thought the tree had gone through the roof.'