Monster money tree

This jade plant, commonly known as a money tree, stands at 3ft high and is more than 80 years old

It is a succulent called crassula argentea, or jade plant, and its current owner wonders if it sets some sort of record.

Bob Luckhurst, of Boundstone Lane, Sompting, has been caring for the plant since 2009, when he inherited it from his wife.

He said: "It has thick wax-like leaves and occasionally produces clusters of very tiny pink flowers.

"I know nothing about houseplants but somehow the Jade Tree has survived and has in fact bloomed 3 times in the last 8 years, so I must be doing something right.

"The plant began life in 1936 in the hands of Mrs Daisy Beard née Minton and in 1966, it passed to her daughter, Mrs Ethel Sear née Beard, who was my mother-in-law.

"When Ethel died in 1974, the plant passd to her daughter Margaret, my wife, who took care of it until her death in 2009."

The plant, often referred to as a money tree, is now more than 80 years old, with a trunk girth of 33cm, and Mr Luckhurst is keen to learn if others can beat it.