British nature campaigners were left outraged after a pub chain cut down an almost 450-year-old tree in north London on health and safety grounds.

The local council in Enfield said they were treating the felling of the oak tree as criminal damage and had reported it to the police.

The remains of the six-metre- (20-foot-) wide oak trunk and its branches were found by local council workers on April 3 at a park in the London borough of Enfield.

Sara Lom, chief executive of the Tree Council charity, said she was "incredibly sad" about the felling and that ancient trees should have similar protections to heritage buildings.

The pub operator, Mitchells & Butlers, which owns the Toby Carvery restaurant on which the tree was located, said they felled the tree after being advised it caused a significant health and safety risk due to split and dead wood.

However, tree specialist Jon Stokes told broadcaster Sky News that the risk was minimal and called for ancient trees to be granted legal protection in Britain.

The council has placed a preservation order on what remains of the oak.