Is this what they mean by the ugly tree? The terrifying 70ft beech with wonky eyes and crooked teeth



The unfortunate effects of falling from the ugly tree are well documented (especially if you hit every branch on the way down).

So children - and those young at heart - would do well to avoid climbing this beech.

With its wonky eyes, twisted snout and crooked teeth, this unsightly work of nature would appear to be the very tree at the centre of the well-known insult.



The beech, which even appears to be drooling, was spotted by David Garnham, from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, while he dropped his mother to work.

Mind the branches: The tree spotted by David Garnham has a rather unfortunate 'face'

He believes the bizarre tree - which also appears to have a twisted tongue forking from its mouth - looks like nature's very own version of Edvard Munch's classic Scream painting.

Others might say the 70ft beech, located in the grounds of Stowlangtoft Hall, is reminiscent of the Whomping Willow tree in Harry Potter or an enchanted Disney forest.

But the 49-year-old is thinking twice about donating a print of his photograph to the residential home where the tree is located near to - in case it scares pensioners.

Mr Garnham, a maintenance technician, said: 'I was going to get it blown up to A3 and donate it to the residential home but you can just imagine one of the old ladies waking up and thinking 'the Grim Reaper's come for me.



'It really does show nature's true beauty and also says a lot about what the imagination can conjure up. It's a bit like the enchanted forest - where it moves towards you but stops when you look at it. I can't imagine too many children wanting to go climbing up that tree.



'I've called the photo 'Nature's Scream' because I think it does have an uncanny resemblance to Edvard Munch's classic work.



Uncanny: The face, which has been named 'Nature's Scream' by the man who spotted it, has been compared to Edvard Munch's famous painting 'The Scream'

'I've known about it for a while but when I was taking my mother to work the other day, I pulled over and took a photograph of it.



'In the light of the day it looks peculiar but it came out on the photograph even better - its like a gargoyle and really is twisted into an incredible form.'



Visitor to the nursing home, 40-year-old Jason Pallister, said: 'If my kids saw that tree they wouldn't sleep for a week - people round here are saying it's got to be scariest tree in the country.'

Owner of the nursing home, John Catchpole, said: 'It has been there many years but over time with branches coming off it has distorted into a striking image.



'We couldn't open it up to the public though - but children visiting their grandparents can go and play by it, if they're brave enough.'



Stowlangtoft Hall was originally built for the Maitland Wilson Family in 1859 and was a regular haunt for King Edward VII during the late 1800s and early 1900s.



In 1969 Stowlangtoft Hall was transformed into a nursing home.

Enchanting: An image of the Whomping Willow tree within the grounds of Hogwarts School, seen in the Harry potter films



