THREE majestic trees were destroyed by Storm Eleanor last week at the Elemental Sculpture Park.

Dave Hartland, owner of the park in Somerford Keynes, mourned the loss of a large Eucalyptus, a red maple and an Indian bean tree, which were taken down by the strong gusts last Wednesday at about 2am.

Dave said: "It's sad to lose three specimen trees in one night.

"The sad part about it is that you can't replace something beautiful in an instance that has taken 25 years to grow. Visitors turn up to enjoy the landscape as much as the sculpture.

"Each of these trees have a history to me.

"The Eucalyptus was one of the first trees I planted. It came from my partner's gran's garden when she died 24 years ago. It was about 6ft when it was moved 24 years ago.

"The red maple was put over the fence 25 years ago. We don't know who did it or who donated it to us."

Dave, who lives at the park, described the storm on the night: "I heard a big crash at 2am in the morning and saw the damage first thing in the morning.

The Eucalyptus tree, which had knocked down the Indian bean tree, had just narrowly missed a couple of art sculptures.

Among the art sculptures which were nearly destroyed by the storm was a piece by Peter Hayes, valued at about £2,500, and another artwork by Lucy Unwin, valued at £3,000.

The storm last week, which saw 70mph gales brought down several trees in the surrounding area.

Last Wednesday, the main road between Avening and Nailsworth was blocked by a fallen tree. It reopened later in the evening.

A man in his 30s was also taken to hospital at 2am after a tree fell on his leg in Ashton-Under-Hill on the A46 Cheltenham Road.