Long grass lawn with shrubs and a dark purple-leaved tree beneath a bright blue sky — The garden with long grass, shrubs and a dark-leaved tree beyond

Large leafy tree rising behind a brick house side wall with a satellite dish — A large tree standing beside the house wall and satellite dish

Climber on a tall trunk high in a tree crown, with leafy branches around him — Climber high in the crown, cutting limbs from the top down

Two workers with chainsaws cutting a large fallen limb among cut logs on a lawn — Two of us cutting a fallen limb into logs on the lawn

Tall remaining trunk with cut stubs rising above shrubs and stacked branches on the grass — The trunk reduced to a tall pole, with cut branches stacked below

This Stourport-on-Severn job followed a large tree through every stage of its removal. It grew in a garden with a house wall on one side, so the work had to be planned around the roof and a satellite dish. Five photos record the climb, the limbs coming down, the logs left on the lawn and the shortened stem that remained at the end of the visit.

How a big tree comes down safely

With a tree this size, the climber goes up first and removes the highest growth, so the weight above is reduced before the trunk is touched. Branches are cut into lengths and lowered or dropped onto clear ground, and the trunk is then taken down in stages. Anything close to a house needs particular care, which is why every cut is planned before it is made.

Reading the photos

The first photo shows the garden, with long grass and mixed shrubs. The second shows the tree towering beside the house wall. The third has our climber high in the crown. The fourth shows two of us cutting a large limb into logs on the grass, and the fifth shows the stem already shortened to a tall pole with limbs stacked below. Timber still needed clearing at that stage.