National Trust garden's tallest tree to be felled

The National Trust says work to dismantle the 150-year-old tree will begin on Monday

The tallest tree at a National Trust garden in Devon, believed to be about 150 years old, will be felled amid safety concerns.

The National Trust said the large Monterey pine tree at the 500-acre (about 200-hectare) Saltram estate near Plympton cannot be saved.

The tree, which is about 30m (98ft) high, has two large vertical cracks, and has developed a fungus, which the trust said could indicate potential decay to its root system.

In a statement to staff and volunteers, head gardener Martin Stott said the tree had been monitored regularly with detailed safety inspections however it presented "too much of a safety risk". Work to dismantle it will begin on Monday and will likely take all week.

Head gardener Martin Stott says it was a very reluctant and difficult decision

Mr Stott said the felling was a reluctant and difficult decision.

"Every avenue to try to find a workable way to keep the tree was explored at length."

He explained one of the cracks was growing vertically and had been measured to penetrate over 1.5m (5ft) into the heart of the stem.

He said: "The crack can clearly be seen to be opening and closing during windy weather and although the tree is visibly putting on response growth to try and mitigate this structural defect, it will not be able to compensate for the weakness to the stem that the crack is causing."

He added that a second crack was discovered last year as well as the growth of the cauliflower fungus.