Woodpeckers call time on giant flagpole (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

Woodpeckers call time on giant flagpole

8:03am Sunday 19th August 2007 in

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It was once the tallest in the world but now - thanks to woodpeckers and decay -- Kew Garden's flag pole is no more.

The Guinness Book of Records recorded the wooden pole as being 225ft in 1959, but time and weather have meant the pole has had to be shortened several times since then.

Now the years have taken their toll and the pole can no longer be used.

A team of steeplejacks climbed to the top on Monday (August 13) and dismantled it with the help of a huge crane.

David Holroyd, head of estates at Kew, said: "Sadly our historic flagpole is no longer safe for flag-flying.

"Woodpecker action and decay have made it unsafe, so we had no alternative but to dismantle it.

"The dismantling operation required a very tall crane and a team of experienced steeplejacks, plus very careful planning.

"It came down in sections."

The pole was made from the trunk of a single Douglas fir tree, estimated to be 370 years old. It weighed 37 tonnes when first cut, but was trimmed down to 15 tonnes at Kew.

Kew Gardens will continue to fly the Union flag from a lesser flagpole to observe various state anniversaries and royal birthdays. Staff at the Gardens have decided not to replace the flagpole with another, because it would mean felling another giant tree.