SUTTON children have lost their battle to save a popular conker tree nine months after they were promised it was safe.

The chestnut on the corner of Harper Grove and Park Avenue was the centre of attention back in February school half term when a group of children staged a half-term vigil in and around its boughs.

But this week, during the autumn half term, the tree finally came down for safety reasons.

The youngsters had been told by contractors in February, working on another tree nearby, that the conker tree was next for the chop.

Horrified that their ready supply of conkers was to go they spent the remaining days of their holiday sporting banners protesting about the impending chain-saw massacre.

But the protest came to a halt after they were reassured that their tree was safe as no record of work was commissioned.

Recently, however, an inspection by the tree surgeon found the tree to be in a seriously dangerous state. The centre was completely rotten and the inner wood little more than mush.

Coun Steve Place said it was sad that the tree had been found to be in such a sad state, but said it had to go as a matter of safety. And this time the children sadly let it go.

"I will be requesting that another tree, hopefully another chestnut, be planted to replace it although not necessarily on the same spot. They do cause a lot of problems because they shed all their leaves over a matter of a few days and in high winds a lot of the smaller sticks snap off blocking drains.

"It could be that a maple or something like that could be its replacement, although I will request that another chestnut be planted somewhere," he said.