CHRISTMAS may already be a distant memory in some people's minds, and the next one seems a long way off – but in one corner of the borough, it seems that the festive season lasts well into March.

Mistletoe has been spotted growing in at least one tree in Charnwood Drive in Wanstead, giving a festive feeling for a lucky group of residents.

As the picture, courtesy of the Wansteadium blog, shows the plant growing among the upper branches of a well-established tree.

Despite the romantic Christmas tradition of kissing under the mistletoe, the plant itself is actually poisonous, and it may well have started growing in the tree after its seeds were spread by a far less-welcome part of any residential area: bird poo.