By Colin Fernandez for the Daily Mail and Jaya Narain for the Daily Mail
Published: 22:09 GMT, 1 December 2019 | Updated: 14:21 GMT, 2 December 2019
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It has stood proudly since the reign of James I.
But hit by a deadly disease, one of the oldest elm trees in Europe is now facing the axe.
The tree was one of a pair planted in Brighton around 1613. More than 100ft tall and with a 23ft girth, the ‘Preston Park Twins’ are widely believed to be among the largest and oldest English elms in the world.
But tragically one of the pair contracted Dutch elm disease earlier this year and must be felled to save its ‘twin’. Already the 400-year-old tree looks a shadow of its former self after tree surgeons had to lop off dead branches and take down the leafy canopy.
One of Britain's oldest elms is to be felled to save its neighbour after it contracted Dutch elm disease. The ancient specimen was planted in Brighton in 1613 (pictured today)
The fungus has reduced its once proud crown of leaves to a hulk of dead wood. It is pictured above in Preston Park, Brighton
sonos sonos One (Gen 2) - Voice Controlled Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa Built-in - Black read moreNow it is awaiting a date for felling, with conservationists claiming Britain has lost part of its natural heritage.
