Protesters 'devastated' as '450-year-old' Somerset oak felled

Ms Franceso said courts are protecting roads over climate

A protester trying to stop a "450-year-old" oak tree being cut down to make way for a road said it is a "total travesty" the tree has been felled.

The oak, near Sparkford in Somerset, was cleared to make way for a slip road as part of a £250m National Highways project to dual the A303.

Protestors had been fighting its destruction for nearly three weeks.

Indra Francesco, a green councillor and deputy mayor of Glastonbury, said everyone is "utterly devastated".

A National Highways spokesman said removing the tree was "a last resort" but moving the slip road would have resulted in "severe delays".

Ms Francesco said during a climate emergency, as we are seeing now, it is important not to be complacent

Ms Francesco said the tree, which was "around 450-years-old" had "inspired" people.

"She is a veteran, she supports so much life. She produces enough oxygen in a year for a family of five.

"The fact National England or any government infrastructure thinks they can just take this away for a slip road is insulting and dangerous.

"They cut it down so quickly, they really wanted the people out, they didn't want it to have so much attention as it has done.

Ms Francesco said: "We've had the driest hottest summer and we are need trees"

Ms Francesco said she felt "humbleness and grateful" the group had spent the last few weeks with the "monster of an oak".

She said without the protesters, the tree "would have gone down silently... without anyone knowing".

"All we can do now is make sure her life or her death" means something.

She said 31,000 people had signed petitions supporting them and "that's even after knowing she's down".

The group is holding a "mini wake" for her, "a celebration of her life and... what she's meant to people," she added.

BBC Springwatch presenter Chris Packham had previously called on National Highways to "rethink" its decision to cut the tree down.