'Wonderful old tree' falls down in Worthing: Safety concerns raised

Chris Dixon, who manages local property services company Landmore, sent a photo to the Worthing Herald of a large tree, which fell at the junction with Goring Road and Warnham Road.

The tree blocked the road, with highways workers quickly at the scene after the incident – which happened between 6 and 6.15pm on Wednesday (March 6).

Chris said it was a ‘wonderful old tree’, adding: “What was alarming is there was no wind and many parents/children pass this tree in the morning/afternoon to and from school.

"I can only assume it was not balanced properly and the heavy rain has taken its toll.

“This tree has been here for over 100 years and there are signs of trimming.”

Chris called on West Sussex County Council to ‘urgently check trees are balanced’ after the heavy rain.

In response, a council spokesperson said: “Safety of pedestrians and road users is of the upmost importance to us. We regularly and proportionately inspect trees on, and adjacent to, our highway network to ensure they are reasonably managed.

“We were informed that the tree had sadly fallen and quickly cleared it to minimise disruption. An arboricultural inspector for the highway has inspected the surrounding trees and remedial tree works are planned.”