'Don't sit under trees' alert as hot spell goes on

Visitors to a country park near Scunthorpe are being warned to avoid sitting, parking or having picnics underneath trees with large branches.

The prolonged heat and dry weather has increased the risk of branches suddenly falling – even from trees that appear healthy and show no obvious signs of weakness.

"They're under a lot of stress at the moment," said Liam Dent, a parks and gardens officer at the 300-acre Normanby Hall Country Park.

"Due to a lack of water, the trees are basically going into survival mode. [They are] trying to protect the main trunk and [their] system. Any branches that are untoward or have cracks in them, they're just shedding them."

About four or five of the park's "veteran" trees have lost branches in recent weeks, including a chestnut and an oak.

"The hot weather hasn't helped the trees. They're definitely lacking in what they need to survive," said Dent, 37, who has worked at the park for about 10 years.

"As the climate is getting hotter, we're more likely to see more trees coming down, more branches coming down, more trees potentially dying, which is really sad to see."

An oak tree was recently identified as being hazardous so the area around it was closed before a branch fell.

But Brad Canfield, 30, another parks and gardens officer, said some drops were unavoidable.

"We do inspect them, but we are human [and] we can miss things. There are things that aren't visible from the ground," he said.

"Tree branches are seriously heavy... they will do a lot of damage when they come down.

"Don't sit underneath trees, especially the older ones. There's always a risk with older trees but the heat does accelerate limb failure."

Some of those visiting the park told the BBC the warning had hit home with them.

"It's a good idea, isn't it?" said Jayne Portas. "Heck, if you got struck by a tree or a branch, it could be fatal."

Rachel Pickup, her sister, added: "I was very surprised... Everybody likes to sit under a tree to keep cool but you're wary now. You're looking up all the time and thinking, 'Oh, is that going to snap?'"

The trees at Normanby Hall are inspected daily, but the officers are encouraging visitors to stay away from those that appear dead, look cracked or are leaning, and to report any concerns over unsafe branches.

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