Artist's 60ft tree sculpture felled 'without his knowledge'

The artist said the 60ft (18m) sculpture was cut down without his knowledge

An artist whose 60ft (18m) sculpture was cut down "without his knowledge" wants "restitution" from the council.

Last Tree Dreaming at Frome College was felled after a tree survey was carried out by Somerset County Council.

The council said it only offers advice on tree removal but supported the college's decision to remove the tree.

Artist Barry Cooper said the sculpture had been "condemned" by an arborist and "only an engineer could have judged" whether it was safe or not.

The original tree was donated to the college by Stourhead in 2013.

Using £44,000 of lottery funding, more than 500 young people carved their "dreams and aspirations" into the tree before it was craned into position in 2016.

The original tree was donated to the college by Stourhead in 2013

The original 80ft tree was growing in a stand of trees at Stourhead painted by JMW Turner in 1798, before it was blown down in a gale

But last week it was felled and Mr Cooper said he was given "no notice at all" it was going to be "cut into pieces".

"A neighbour opposite saw them cutting it down. I went up there but the deed had been done," he said.

He said he was "absolutely devastated" the sculpture had been "vandalised" and was "now in pieces on the ground".

"The engineer responsible for this iconic timber construction said in his opinion, the sculpture was 100 percent safe on the day it was cut down," he said.

"We intend to pursue Somerset County Council seeking restitution."

More than 500 young people carved their "dreams and aspirations" into the tree before it was erected at the college in 2016

Somerset County Council said its service was "only advisory" and it had also suggested keeping the tree "with some mitigation measures".

"Our role is to assess the structural integrity of trees, alive or dead and make a judgement based on the risk to students and staff and suggest options to the education provider," it said.

"In this instance we stand by the concerns flagged by the team. The school has a duty of care to students, staff and visitors and decided to take action to remove the risk. We support them in that decision."

Frome College, said it had considered the mitigation option but it was "deemed impossible to deliver safely".

"At college, we look to the future and see this as the start of the next part of the tree's life," it said.

"Preserving the art work and thinking creatively about how this can be re-sculptured will be a really exciting project and one we look forward to working on with students and our community."