Toby Carvery blasted as ancient oak tree near restaurant car park is hacked down

has been slammed over the felling of an ancient oak tree thought to be more than 400 years old.

The tree, which has a girth of 6.1 metres, is located near the Whitewebbs House Toby Carvery car park. The company's owner said it was advised the tree posed a risk to the public by experts and so .

But Enfield Council is now treating the matter as criminal damage and has reported it to Metropolitan Police. The authority, controlled by Labour since 2010, said it was not informed of this incident until last week, some days after the felling, it is understood. It has also put an emergency preservation order in place on the base of the stump near the car park, just off junction 25 of the M25 in the capital.

Environmental campaigners and locals decried the felling as "devastating" and . The latter, which happened on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, sparked fury across the country.

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The reaction to Toby Carvery's move has also been fierce. Woodland Trust has argued that the old tree was still an important habitat, with ancient oaks supporting biodiversity like endangered dead wood beetles.

Ed Pyne, Woodland Trust senior conservation adviser for trees, said: "This is the most shocking fell I think I've ever seen in more than a decade working with ancient trees.

"In my view, and the view of many others, this is ecologically much more significant than the Sycamore Gap - and certainly a more irreplaceable tree.

"Ancient oaks are particularly rich in biodiversity with habitats that take centuries to develop. They simply can't be replaced by younger trees and can't be replaced quickly."

He added that the development of decaying tree habitats are a "normal and healthy part of a tree's lifecycle - especially in the ancient phase.

"Some of the biodiversity associated with ancient trees, like the Whitewebbs oak, is amongst the most threatened in Europe," Mr Pyne said.

Ed Allnut, Enfield resident and secretary of the Guardians of Whitewebbs group, said local people wanted justice for the old oak. He added: "The tree belonged to Enfield and to our national heritage. I am personally devastated. We want answers, and we want guarantees the other trees here are being protected properly."

Ergin Erbil, leader of Enfield Council, said the tree felling occurred on April 3. He said: "Enfield Council cares deeply about protecting trees and green spaces in the borough.

"The council was not informed of this incident until last week. Our teams immediately carried out a full site inspection to assess the damage after receiving reports of the damage done to the tree.

"We are treating the matter as criminal damage and have reported it to the police. We've now placed a legal protection (Tree Preservation Order) on the tree and are looking at ways to help it grow back."

It comes as the Tree Council and Forest Research published a report on Monday, which called for a "robust and effective system" of protections as part of a wider action plan to protect England's most important trees in the wake of the Sycamore Gap tree felling.

A spokesperson for Mitchells & Butlers said: "The tree was cut back after we were advised that it caused a serious health and safety risk.

"This was an essential action to protect our employees and guests, to whom we have a duty of care. Upon further inspection, our specialist arboriculture contractors made the assessment that the split and dead wood posed a serious health and safety risk and advised that the tree was unsafe and should be removed.

"We took every necessary measure to ensure all legal requirements were met. We are grateful to our expert contractors for warning us of this hazard so swiftly, allowing us to act before anyone was harmed."