Mansfield tree to be cut down 'to protect motorists'

The tree stands alongside the busy A60 at Warsop

A diseased ash tree is to be cut down and two others are being monitored over fears they might fall onto a busy Nottinghamshire road.

The roots of the mature ash, next to the A60 at The Carrs in Warsop, have been weakened by white rot.

Mansfield District Council said it took the decision after another ash tree affected by the same fungus blew down and blocked a road earlier this year.

The tree will be chopped down on 6 December and two replacements planted.

The two other affected trees are being regularly checked but are not thought to be as diseased and are both showing "good signs of growth".

Councillor Eddie Smith said: "The last thing we want to do is to remove mature trees like this but we have to put the safety of the public first.

"The 'white rot' on this ash tree and signs of decay in the root system mean that there is a growing possibility of the tree falling onto the busy A60, which we must avoid.

"The Carrs is a stunning environment and it is a blow to lose a mature tree but I am delighted that we are able to plant two replacement trees in its place."