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A 250-year-old pear tree in Warwickshire has been voted as England’s Tree of the Year for 2015.

The Cubbington Pear Tree, which is one of the country’s oldest and largest wild trees, has been chosen as this year’s winner after seeing off competition from nine other nominations.

The pear tree received over a third of more than 10,000 votes cast by members of the public in the contest organised by the Woodland Trust and supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

Standing at the top of a hill near South Cubbington Wood, it is on the proposed phase 1 route of the HS2 line from London to Birmingham and could be lost if or when construction gets underway.

It is thought to be the largest wild pear tree in Warwickshire and the second largest in the United Kingdom.

The tree now joins the Suffragette Oak in Glasgow, Peace Tree in Northern Ireland and ‘Survival at the cutting edge’ from Wales in the European Tree of the Year contest in February 2016.

Beccy Speight, Woodland Trust chief executive, said: “These four trees all demonstrate the intrinsic way our lives are linked to the natural world.

“Sadly, many iconic trees do not have the levels of protection they deserve and this contest highlights the need to ensure they remain for future generations to enjoy and memories to endure.”