Game of Thrones' famous Dark Hedges face the CHOP: Beech trees have become dangerously unstable and are at risk of 'killing someone', experts warn

A postulation of beech trees popularised by nan deed TV show Game of Thrones will person to beryllium felled because they person go dangerously unstable, information experts say.

Northern Ireland's Dark Hedges were planted successful nan 18th period but person suffered truthful overmuch harm complete nan past 250 years that location are fears personification could beryllium killed if action is not taken.

The trees are a celebrated tourer attraction successful Armoy, Co Antrim, having featured successful nan TV adjustment of George R. R. Martin's imagination novels.

Game of Thrones fans will retrieve that successful play 2 Arya Stark escaped down nan tree-lined roadworthy from King's Landing. 

The way was utilized arsenic nan Kingsroad, a way moving overmuch of nan magnitude of nan onshore of Westeros which characters usage to recreation betwixt nan continent's Seven Kingdoms. 

However, what started arsenic 2 rows of immoderate 150 trees successful full is now down to 86 because of rot, age, stormy upwind and harm by tourists.

They were primitively planted to statement nan attack to a Georgian mansion successful Ballymoney called Gracehill House. 

Eighty of these beech trees person now been surveyed by character information experts and conscionable 30 recovered to beryllium successful a adjacent condition.

The remainder were damaged successful immoderate way, including 11 astatine consequence of falling connected group because they are considered dangerously unstable. 

One was wholly dead, according to nan study by Northern Ireland's Department for Infrastructure.

Of nan 11 that person been recommended for nan chop, six are taxable to character protection orders truthful nan section assembly has to springiness its consent for this to happen. 

Mervyn Storey, a DUP councillor, told nan Belfast Telegraph: 'I, and nary 1 else, wants to spot nan opening of nan extremity of what is known arsenic nan Dark Hedges.

'There was nary money put successful to do thing for illustration an fierce tree-planting scheme, but my emotion is it's acold excessively precocious for that.'

Mr Storey is besides a personnel of nan Dark Hedges Preservation Trust, which has called for conscionable 4 aliases 5 trees to beryllium trim down 

'It's trying to support thing live that has been successful nan intensive attraction portion for a bully number of years,' he added.

'These trees are not going to past forever, and we've already mislaid a sizeable magnitude arsenic a consequence of upwind and earthy circumstances.'

Councillors will beryllium told that nan rescue plans 'should thief unafraid nan continued beingness of nan mostly of nan protected trees, pinch an indicated life span of complete 10 years'.

They will beryllium asked to see 'health and information concerns successful relation pinch perchance vulnerable and structurally compromised trees'. 

Bob McCallion, of nan Save nan Dark Hedges run group, told nan Belfast Telegraph: 'Because of nan magnitude of group who guidelines nether these trees, location is nary measurement nan assembly tin cull these findings.

'These trees are going to beryllium condemned. But I'm not moreover judge they'll do this because each these group want is nan tourism.

'People are wringing their hands. If they don't do thing complete these trees, personification is going to beryllium killed because of nan authorities they are in.'