A series of incidents in a Merseyside park have led residents to ask "how safe are our trees".
At 2.45pm yesterday - Tuesday, September 6 - reports were made to Sefton Council that a large branch had "splintered" and fallen to the ground outside the children's play area in the Botanic Gardens in Southport. The incident has raised concerns with parkgoers and local residents as there have been a string of large branches falling at the gardens in recent months.
Located in the Southport suburb of Churchtown the gardens opened in 1874 and have gone through a series of safety improvements in the last year due to the efforts of local campaigners.
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One concerned resident said: "No children were hurt but if it had been half an hour later when the children came out of school it could have been a different story as this is the second incident. You have to ask how safe are our trees".
A spokesperson for Sefton Council said: “The Council’s Green Sefton team are aware of a branch that fell yesterday in Botanic Gardens. The tree has been inspected and appears to be healthy, meaning the branch drop has likely been brought on by the prolonged dry weather we’ve had.
“Our expert tree and woodland officers will continue to monitor its condition, as they do with trees across the Borough’s parks, green spaces and highways. Trees in more heavily used areas, such as play areas, are inspected more frequently.”
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