Trees surgeons who were called to take down a tree in Harpenden instead carved it into an owl sculpture.

A Japanese Thuja tree, outside Coleridge Court in Milton Road, had to be taken down due to subsidence on Saturday, July 15.

Tree surgeons Terry Buxton, who works for TGB Treecare, and Gary Ashley, who were called in to dismantle the tree, discussed the idea with local residents and decided they would make a sculpture out of the stump.

Gary, who is a chainsaw carver, designed and carved the sculpture out of the original tree. He showcases his other carvings on his website http://twistedash.co.uk/, where he states that the carvings combine his passions for art and tree surgery.

Terry said: “People were stopping us as we were doing it and we had loads of responses. I was employed to take the tree down and thought I’d do something with it. We didn’t charge them for it.”