A MAN has told of his sadness of ancient trees being 'wrecked' in a Herefordshire town.

In 2021, four ginkgo biloba trees were planted in Etnam Street, Leominster, complete with tree guards.

Mark Rogers, who lives just outside Weobley, is a horticulturalist and head gardener at Broadfield Court in Bodenham.

When he saw the trees on a visit to Leominster he thought that they were a great addition as some of the trees along the street were elderly and not in good health.

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Having spoken to Herefordshire Council's Tree Officer, Oliver Kaye, Mr Rogers was informed that the trees were funded by Leominster Town Council to improve the natural environment of Etnam Street.

Ginkgo are long-lived, beautiful trees, with good autumn colour and unusual, fan-shaped leaves.

It is one of the oldest living tree species in the world.

It's the sole survivor of an ancient group of trees that date back to before dinosaurs roamed the Earth – creatures that lived between 245 and 66 million years ago. It's so ancient, the species is known as a 'living fossil'

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Mr Rogers noticed recently that an individual had taken it upon themselves to 'mutilate' the trees by hacking off the leading shoots.

He said that this will permanently disfigure the trees as they will no longer grow upwards properly.

Mr Rogers said "Due to the size of the trees and the angle of buds it won't be possible to retrain them to grow and form a proper shape for the rest of their lives.

"They will take on the appearance of stunted lollipops, at best.

"They have been effectively "wrecked"."

He said: "With global warming and hotter summers to come, we should be respecting and valuing trees, not hacking them about because they might become some sort of out-of-control green monster."