Calls to chop down 'rotting' monster tree
Folk visiting Earlham Cemetery have called for a dying tree found to be taken down before it falls. - Credit: Archant
A huge, rotting tree could collapse and cause serious injury, according to visitors at a city grave yard where the "hazard" stands.
The tree, in Earlham Cemetery, is shedding branches and bark at an alarming rate with passers-by declaring it a "health hazard".
One man who visits the site regularly is 74-year-old George Leslie who has asked the Evening News' We’ll Sort It! campaign to help solve the problem.
The decaying tree is said to be roughly 60ft high. - Credit: Francis Redwood
The former milkman said: "I spend a lot of time in the cemetery.
"I cover quite a lot of the area - whether it's bird watching or tidying up some of the overgrown plots around.
"Then I came across this tree about a week ago and it's completely rotten.
The tree is rotting away from the inside. - Credit: Francis Redwood
"If I had to hazard a guess it's about 60ft.
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"It's literally withering away and could potentially injure or kill someone if they're in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Now Mr Leslie, who lives in Dereham Road, is calling on the council to remove the tree.
He added: "I don't know why the council haven't done something about it.
George Lesley, 74 from Dereham Road, has been cleaning a number of graves since 2019. - Credit: Francis Redwood / Archant
"I've managed to find it and see how dangerous it is - why haven't they?"
A Norwich City Council spokeswoman said: "This tree is managed and maintained to enhance biodiversity in that part of the cemetery.
"It was inspected by our arboriculture team very recently.
"You can report a problem with a tree using the council’s online form at www.norwich.gov.uk/trees"
The dead tree is at the Bowthorpe Road end of the cemetery close to one of the grass paths off of the main route.
George Leslie, 74, said the tree is a "health hazard." - Credit: Francis Redwood
Mr Leslie added: "It's a danger to anyone who walks down the path there.
"Someone could be asking for trouble if they're standing near it when it does finally fall.
"It would be one of those freak accidents where you can't ever imagining it happening.
"However it's still a possibility and something needs to be done about it soon."
The tree can be found near the Bowthorpe Road end of Earlham Cemetery. - Credit: Francis Redwood
