SPOOKS star Hermione Norris is calling on Hampshire residents to recycle their Christmas cards to help the Woodland Trust plant thousands of trees.

The actress wants the county to beat last year’s impressive figures, which saw locals drop off 1,818,000 cards at branches of WHSmith, Tesco, TK Maxx and Marks and Spencer – including 148,000 in Southampton.

All the cards collected during January are taken to paper mills where they are recycled into brand new products, with the money raised helping the Woodland Trust to plant thousands of new trees in some of its 1,000 UK woods.

Last year, the scheme saw 73.6 million cards being handed in – enough for 17,000 trees to be planted.

Last year, Hampshire residents alone stopped 48 tonnes of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases being omitted, through recycling cards. Norris said: “I want to challenge Hampshire residents to make it your mission to collect as many Christmas cards as possible. Sending cards is a lovely tradition, but instead of throwing them away after Twelfth Night, take your cards to a participating store, and pop them in the special bins.

“This will mean the Woodland Trust can plant thousands more trees and also help the environment by reducing waste. So do your bit this January and make it a green 2009.”