The Grand Old Duke of York was up, then he was half-way down, and finally he was down for good.

The "Duke" in question was a sycamore tree on the village green at Gillamoor, near Kirkbymoorside, which was felled after it was declared unsafe.

Only last year children from the nearby primary school planted bulbs to celebrate the 100th birthday of the three sycamores on the green, which were planted in 1897 for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

The trees were all named after members of the Royal Family at the time. The one that has been felled was called George, Duke of York, while the others were named Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, and Prince Edward of York. The felled tree was planted by George Simpson, the great-grandfather of the current chairman of Gillamoor parish meeting, Hawson Simpson.

Meanwhile, almost 30 trees lining the York to Scarborough railway line are to be axed as part of a Railtrack plan to manage the area - despite fierce opposition from local residents.

Railtrack say the avenue of trees along Bootham Terrace and Grosvenor Terrace, York, which is protected by a series of tree preservation orders, have been neglected for decades.

And it has called in independent environmental consultants ADAS to draw up a management plan, Bootham Project 2025, which has been given council approval.

But residents, who successfully fought off an earlier "slash and burn" scheme to clear the woodland, are still suspicious of Railtrack's motives.

Campaigner Roger Wools said while residents accepted that the latest plan was a vast improvement on the earlier scheme there was still concern and confusion over whether the remaining trees would be safe in the long run.

"I think constant vigilance is needed and I was pleased to hear that councillors will be continuing to monitor the situation. We are very concerned about the future."

David Joyce, a Railtrack track maintenance engineer, reassured residents that a month's notice would be given before any work was undertaken.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.