Thieves cash in on Norway tree

The tree was on display outside Oslo railway station

Thieves in Norway have stripped bare a Christmas tree decorated with banknotes worth about $2,000.

The tree had been adorned with coins and banknotes as a work of art by pop star Magne Furuholmen of the Norwegian band A-Ha.

There was a distinct possibility that this was going to happen

Magne Furuholmen, A-Ha

Mr Furuholmen had been given 14,000 kroner by the national railway operator to decorate the tree, outside Oslo's main railway station.

The keyboard player, who is also an accomplished artist, decided to use the money to symbolise the commercialisation of Christmas.

Mr Furuholmen made stars and flowers out of the banknotes and hung chains made out of five-crown coins on the branches of the two-metre (six foot) tree.

Predictable

The tree was hoisted up the front of the station on Wednesday, partly to keep its temptations out of reach.

Furuholmen is also an accomplished artist

But on Wednesday night railway staff reported the notes and coins were gone.

Mr Furuholmen said he was not surprised by the theft.

"There was a distinct possibility that this was going to happen," he told NRK public radio.

The railway station is a popular hang-out for heroin addicts and is protected by closed-circuit security cameras.

Police are examining video footage to try to identify the perpetrators.