The majestic silver fir that had been destined to become the Vatican's Christmas tree in St Peter's Square this year has been spared from the chop after a last-minute intervention by environmental activists.

The news brings an end to a long-running dispute over the felling of the tree - which was to be a gift to Pope Francis from the mountain village of Rosello in Italy's central Abruzzo region - amid calls for it to be saved from the axe and confusion over its exact geographical location.