A FLINTSHIRE chainsaw carver is transforming a 300-year-old tree with the help of local schoolchildren.

Ian Williams, of Flint Mountain, has been chainsaw carving for the last four years, prior to which it was a hobby.

On Monday (November 23) he started work on a large horse chestnut tree to the rear of Holywell Leisure Centre.

He explained: "The tree is owned by Flintshire Council and for safety reasons it had to be reduced in size. "But because it's 300 years old and has historical value to the area.

"Although it's diseased, it's in a safe position and they didn't want to take it down completely.

"There were a number of options and they decided to look into the possibility of carving it so they asked me to look at it."

After telling the council a carving would be achievable, the decision was made to let local schoolchildren have their say on what the new design should be. "We had about 300 submissions," he said. "We picked eight rather than just one and their designs will all be incorporated into the tree in one aspect or another.

"Thank you for all of the drawings - they were amazing.

"This is where my job now comes in."

After some preliminary work Mr Williams started carving yesterday (Monday) and he expects the work to take two weeks.

He added: "I've never carved a tree of this size - it's 28 feet tall and the approximate weight would be about 18 tonnes.

"We have put an estimated two weeks on the job, but it might take longer because we're not going to rush anything. "We're going to take our time and get in the elements that the community want on it."