Experts working their magic to save Harry Potter tree which starred in The Order of the Phoenix
The aged Cedar of Lebanon needs emergency 'surgery' now to stop it toppling over
TREE experts have been asked to work their magic and save a historic tree which had a starring role in the fifth Harry Potter film.
The aged Cedar of Lebanon tree, which stands in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, needs emergency 'surgery' to stop it from toppling over.
The huge specimen appeared in The Order of the Phoenix when Severus Snape endures a flashback to being bullied by Potter's father James and Sirius Black.
Snape - played by the late Alan Rickman - is seen dangling upside down from the top of the impressive tree which has become a favourite with Potter fans from all over the world.
Now a huge hole in the trunk of the 55ft tall tree is so large it could topple over tomorrow.
The rescue plan now underway involves a team of tree surgeons using climbers and a cherry picker to fix cables to its larger upper branches and attach them to nearby trees.
This will give the cedar added support and reduce the chances of it collapsing.
Related Stories
Roy Cox, head of estates at Blenheim Palace, said: "Our forestry team are working with specialist heritage tree experts to stabilise the tree, give it the best chance for the future and importantly keep it open for our visitors.
"Cedar of Lebanons of this age are a risk and if we do not take decisive action the tree will have to be permanently fenced off from our visitors and be lost for future generations.
"The large hole which is it defining feature is also its weakness and like any of us it is getting old.
"If we were to do nothing the tree could fall down tomorrow. It may still do that but at least we have done everything we can and if it does fail it will be controlled.
";We engaged national experts in heritage tree conservation to secure the tree back to others nearby and reduce the weight of the upper crown.
"As it is still alive it could live for many more decades – we just don't know. We could have ignored it and let it fall of its own accord but it's important we do everything we can for such impressive trees.
"It's as significant to Blenheim Palace as it is to Harry Potter fans."
The cedar of Lebanon originates in Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, northwest Jordan, western Syria, and south central Turkey.
It is unknown when the first cedar of Lebanon was planted in Britain, but it dates at least to 1664.
In 2014 an ancient yew in Hertfordshire, which had starred as the 'Whomping Willow' in the grounds of Hogwarts, split in two and collapsed.