Pub chain slammed for felling 500-year-old oak deemed a 'serious risk'

TOBY Carvery is facing an outcry after it cut down an oak tree thought to be around 500 years old.

- By Rebecca Perring

With a girth of 20ft, it was on the Woodland Trust’s national ancient tree inventory and much loved by users of Whitewebbs Park in Enfield, North London.

But it was felled on April 3 after experts for Mitchells & Butlers, the owner of the nearby carvery, said it was dying and that it posed a “serious health and safety risk”.

Enfield Council said it was treating it as criminal damage and had reported the felling to the Met Police.

It has also put an emergency preser-vation order in place on the stump.