250-year-old oak tree falls over

A distinctive oak tree dating back up to 250 years came crashing to the ground after dying due to its age.

The 250-year-old Lucombe oak, in Exmouth, Devon, was the biggest of its kind in the world with a girth of 26 feet.

It was one of Devon's oldest trees and the centrepiece of Phear Park, Exmouth, which is itself only 100 years old this summer.



The great oak which had been attacked by a fungus for years toppled over on Sunday night despite only light winds blowing. It had been failing for some time and is thought to have died as a result of its age. The trunk snapped off with most of the roots left in the ground, where a huge hole opened up.

The so-called 'Champion oak' was donated to the people of Exmouth by the Phear family after the Second World War.

While its exact age is not known, since the first Lucombe oak was grown by William Lucombe in the 1760s, it could be up to 250 years old. East Devon District Council gardeners now have the task of deciding what to do with the trunk.