I'VE just been to look at the remains of the Copper Beech tree that the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution had cut down in Connaught Court, Fulford.

As I walked up the path I saw the limbless trunk lying there like a dead body.

With a circumference around its trunk of about four metres it had truly been a magnificent specimen. I inspected the stump and trunk closely. The tiny hollow in the centre (quite normal for a tree of that age) showed not a sign of disease or rotten wood at all.

From the central heartwood to the outer bark it was as solid as a rock - thick healthy wood through and through. In over 40 years of working in private woodlands and for the Forestry Commission, I've never seen a tree in better condition for its age.

It was one of the best trees in Fulford, and it had been made into a wonderful feature with footpaths, and a low wall around it where people could sit and relax in the shade.

Think of all the history and changes it will have witnessed over the past 150 years. Many a horse will have sheltered beneath it long before the days of traffic congestion. It has stood in all weathers as the world passed it by.

And although it might seem old to us, it could have lived for another hundred years if the chainsaws hadn't put an end to its life.

Why did they cut it down in its prime when it wasn't a danger to anyone? It's absolutely criminal.

John Britton

St Oswald's Road

Fulford,

York.

Updated: 11:26 Wednesday, October 06, 2004