There used to be a beautiful White Willow (Salix alba) beside the entrance to the Fairway holiday camp in Sandown.

It was the largest tree on Perowne Way and an everyday delight to those who passed it.

The branches arched elegantly out then down and its reflective grey-green leaves cast a dappled shade on the ground beneath.

It was a landmark; surviving between the manicured gardens and uninspiring houses, the last vestige of a patch of nature, gloriously wild and making a home for many other native species.

Until recently, when they cut it down, along with all the other trees and bushes on the same verge.

A long wooden fence is what everyone must now dwell on.

The sprays of blackthorn and hawthorn blossom in spring, the honeysuckle and wild rose in summer and the blackberries of autumn are now a fence.

That should lift everyone's spirits when they pass by what looks like and might now be called 'Stalag Fairway'.

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