A TREE in Pershore’s Abbey Park car park is to be cut down after a routine inspection found it to be suffering from a fungal disease.

The large horse chestnut has got Phytophthora which will eventually kill the tree and could even spread to and attack other nearby trees if left alone.

The work to fell the tree will begin on Sunday, December 7, and part of the car park will be closed for safety reasons during that time.

Wychavon District Council’s parks officer Lynn Stevens said: “We are very sad to have to carry out this work but public safety must come first.

“A diseased tree can fall unexpectedly, so it is a priority to get it down as quickly and as safely as possible.

“We believe that the combination of stress on the trees due to climate change and the conditions favouring fungal growth means that the tree stock all over the country is suffering losses.”

The council said a replacement tree will be planted in the future when it is sure all traces of the disease has gone.