IT’S not exactly what you hope to find at the bottom of your Christmas tree – dozens and dozens of little, black bugs.

But that was the sight that confronted Mike Boss and his family almost two weeks after they proudly put up and decorated their festive fir tree.

Mike, who lives near Ringwood, had bought a “treated” Nordman Fir Christmas tree from the B&Q store at Castlepoint on December 6.

But it was a over a week later that he noticed a couple of small bugs running across the carpet. Closer inspection of the tree revealed hundreds of the insects swarming all over the trunk of the tree.

Mike has now thrown the tree out and got the family’s old artificial one out of the loft.

He said: “I’ve got no idea what kind of insects they are; they are bigger than ants but smaller than spiders and not particularly pleasant.

“We weren’t very impressed, particularly bearing in mind it was one of their more expensive trees and was supposed to be a treated tree.

“Fortunately we were able to get rid of the tree while the children were at school and pre-school but my seven-year-old did look quite shocked when he came home and saw the tree was gone.”

B&Q originally offered to refund the cost of the tree but later offered the family £50 in gift vouchers and to pay for the carpet to be cleaned.

In a statement, the company said: “We are very sorry that Mr Boss is not satisfied with his Christmas tree purchase from B&Q and we will do everything we can to put that right.

“B&Q has been selling Christmas trees for over 30 years and ensuring all our customers have the right experience of B&Q is a priority to us.”