Our Tree Warden, Roger Miles, has spotted that this tree, one of the largest on the Upper Field, has suffered a large crack in its trunk. A branch has now fallen as shown below.
It is a Norway Maple, about half way along the tarmaced path.
The photos below show the original crack, several feet long. It is dangerous to go near the tree which has now been red/white taped off .
The break in the tree, seen from both sides, is shown below.
Two other trees on the Heath, a beech and a cherry have recently lost heavy branches, but in these cases the cause was rot in the in the point where the branch met the main trunk.
The dangerous nature of this tree has been brought to the attention of SADC and now only the stump remains. It was necessary to remove the remaining branch because of its hazardous state,