150-year-old Monkey puzzle tree may be cut down because its needles could hurt children

For 150 years, it has stood in splendid serenity on the village green, harming no one and pleasing many.

Over the decades, the monkey puzzle tree at West Cross, near Swansea, became a much-loved local landmark.

But now it is facing the chop … because, in modern Britain, the needle-like points of its leaves are deemed a danger to health and safety.



One expert likened the effect of the needles to being pricked by a hypodermic syringe.

‘Every effort is made in this day and age to prevent children playing with discarded syringe needles,’ a report stated. ‘Every effort must be made to prevent children coming into contact with these potentially, equally sharp needles.’

But a campaign to save the 50ft tree, also known as a Chilean Pine, has been launched by residents, who insist the prickly foliage is not likely to present the same risk of spreading infectious diseases as a discarded syringe.