A GIANT redwood has been felled with great reluctance and heavy hearts at Westonbirt Arboretum.

The 118ft tree was planted during the mid-19th century when the Holbrook family created the 600-acre woodland.

Time has taken its toll on the magnificent redwood that has graced the Main Drive for around 165 years.

Planted from a sapling imported from California it has been in decline for years and had to be felled for safety reasons.

Although one of the loftiest trees at Westonbirt it fell some way short of the arboretum’s tallest, a 144ft Grand Fir.

Curator Mark Ballard said: “Deciding when to remove old trees is one of the hardest decisions we have to take here at Westonbirt.

“All of the arboretum’s trees are regularly inspected for safety reasons and we try to strike the balance between allowing old and valuable trees to remain and visitors’ safety.

“As trees reach the end of their lives they tend to go into decline - known as senescence.

“As managers we try to care for specimens through this process, for example by gradual crown reduction.

“However, we can only delay, rather than prevent, the inevitable. Sooner or later we have to say goodbye.”

Experts used a hi-tech method to measure the redwood’s state of health which confirmed their fears that they would have to give it the chop.

Mr Ballard added: “On a brighter note, we do have over 50 other giant redwood specimens throughout the arboretum, and we also hope to collect more wild seed later this year from western USA.”