A Christmas tree that was dubbed “the worst in Britain” by a national newspaper was put up for sale for charity.

The stars from Haddenham’s unusual tree, which was built out of scaffolding poles and tinsel, was placed on internet auction site EBay in a bid to raise money for the Royal National Institute for the Blind.

The tree took pride of place in the village centre over Christmas but was dubbed Britain’s worst by the Daily Mail, despite dozens of villagers coming out in support.

Miranda Pratt, who advertised the stars for sale and helped build the tree, described it as “a rare opportunity to purchase a star from what was dubbed by the Daily Mail as the worst Christmas tree in Britain”.

According to Ms Pratt, each star measures 75cm in diameter and is made of willow from Wicken Fen.

There were originally 24 stars but one was stolen from the tree while in situ.

The 23 remaining stars were advertised for £10 each, although many attracted bids in excess of that amount, with more than £200 raised for the RNIB.

Jim Mullin, pastor of Haddenham’s Baptist church hit back, saying villagers had been “offended” by the article.

“It was the central piece of a truly tremendous community event, the Festival of Light. The whole village turned out to have fun all day,” he said. “Personally I saw it as a real piece of contemporary art and congratulate the artists who came up with the idea.”