A FORESTRY worker's career reached new heights yesterday when he oversaw the felling of a towering spruce tree set for a star billing at the Houses of Parliament.
The order capped a 38-year career for Forestry Commission works manager Derek English, of Hexham, North-umberland.
The Forestry Commission was asked to supply Christmas trees from Kielder Forest to Westminster, with the 35- year-old sitka spruce destined for the front of Big Ben.
Two smaller specimens will grace the 11th Century Westminster Hall and the spot behind the Speaker's Chair in the Commons.
Mr English, 57, has been involved in harvesting Christmas trees for most of his working-life - one year felling 42,000.
Over the past months, he has been roaming Kielder's 155,000 acres, making a mental note of the best trees.
The spruce that caught his eye was found a couple of miles from Kielder Castle Visitor Centre, where it was carefully felled and loaded on to a lorry for despatch to the capital
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