The lightning storm last week has damaged one of Bradford-on-Avon’s  ancient oak trees which was ‘always there’ as you enter the town near the Canal off the Sainsbury’s roundabout on the Frome Road.

Following a call from Wiltshire Council on the Friday morning, William Warden, owner of Conservation Contractors in Devizes, sent one of his teams urgently to the stricken tree to evaluate the damage.  Not only had the tree suffered extensive damage, but it was adjacent to an electricity sub station, so the tree had to be dismantled carefully,  safely and quickly.

Because of the height of the tree, a supersized access platform was needed, which the Wiltshire Fire Brigade supplied, allowing the Conservation Contractors team to start work.

Firstly they had to make the tree safe by reducing the height from some 25/30m by half.  Then, once this part of the work was done, the dismantling continued until a rather sad trunk was all that remained. And then it was ‘Timber’ with the trunk.  The branches were chipped for small brushwood and the timbers have gone locally for firewood.

William says:  “We were pleased to help…. It was one of the jobs that needed not only the skills of our experienced team of tree surgeons but also our equipment and know how to dismantle the tree without damaging the substation”.

See Conversation Contractors tree surgery page on their website here