ANGRY villagers say a tree which is thought to have been planted by Queen Mary more than 75 years ago has been felled without adequate consultation.

Since 1929 the beech tree on the Shaftesbury Estate at Wimborne St Giles has been a dominating feature of the village - it even features strongly in the Daily Echo's Down Your Way guide.

But as former parish and district councillor Alan Humphries drove past recently he was aghast to see it gone.

He told the Echo: "It is very sad that a tree which had such historical value has gone. It was planted by Queen Mary in 1929.

"The county council have apparently said it had to be felled because it was dangerous but our belief is that there was no urgency to take this tree down.

"The people of the village are amazed and upset that the tree has been felled when we didn't realise it was even dangerous. I would have happily parked my car underneath it.

"Our belief is that there was no urgency to take this tree down. The better way to go about this would have been to have a meeting with tree experts to explain their case to us.

"Now all we can do is make sure that in future there is better public consultation."

Mr Humphries plans to raise his concerns at the meeting of Wimborne St Giles Parish Council next Wednesday (February 16).

But a spokeswoman for the Shaftesbury Estate said they too had been saddened to see the tree felled but it had been considered dangerous. She added: "We've planted more than a million trees at the estate - felling them is not something we take lightly."

A spokesman for Dorset County Council said: "Fungal disease had caused such extensive damage that the tree was dangerous to pedestrians, parked cars and nearby property. We had a legal responsibility to recommend the tree be felled immediately on health and safety grounds.

"In cases like this there is no opportunity for public consultation."

First published: February 9