2,500-year-old Claverley yew tree in need of a trim

But now the 2,500-year-old yew tree in the grounds of All Saints Church in Claverley has got too big for its roots.

And the tree is to be given a trim to prevent it causing damage to the 11th century church.

Work on the tree, which has been officially aged by botanist and television presenter Sir David Bellamy, is believed to be one of the oldest in the county, will begin in the next few weeks.

The Reverend Garry Ward, vicar at All Saints Church, said: "The area the church was built on was originally a pagan place of worship and quite often they would use yew trees as an example of long life. There are older trees in Shropshire but this one is certainly one of the oldest.

"The trees are quite slow growing, which is why they can live for such a long time.

"We are not going to any major work to it – we just need to remove a few hanging branches, which could lead to health and safety issues."

The church itself is more than 1,000 years old and Mr Ward said it was impressive that both landmarks had survived for so long.

He said: "The tree has survived the Roman invasion, while they both survived the Civil War."

He added: "The tree has seen all these changes – it's one heck of a tree. It's is in the churchyard, which we're letting grow more naturally and wild. We're hoping to attract more wildlife and plant life.

"The tree is also listed so we had to seek permission from Shropshire Council to carry out work, which has been granted."