ONE of the city's historic military sites is being spruced up with the removal of 100 trees which are damaging it.

Crownhill Fort is being given a spring-clean with 150 tonnes of wood being removed from the site over the next few days.

A total of 101 mature trees are being taken away from the inner rampart of the historic site because they are beginning to damage the infrastructure of the fort.

"Action has been taken to remove all the mature trees from the inner rampart because they're such a size now that when the wind blows they collide with and damage the fort," said Jamie Bewler, operations manager for Devon Tree Services, which is co-ordinating the removal, "and the roots are causing a problem to the structure in the inner fort."

However, the task of extracting the cut timber from the grounds of the fort has posed problems for the removal team.

"Logistically, it doesn't get much worse," said Jamie.

"We have a 40-foot deep moat running around the perimeter of the fort, so we had to work out how to remove the mature timber safely.

"A crane wasn't an option and neither was man or horse power, so there was only one other possibility – helicopter."

Navigating his way into the ancient monument, the helicopter pilot is given the job of transporting each tree outside of the fort site and to an adjacent field.

The timber will then be used as firewood, with the chippings from the trees going to the National Trust.

Jamie added that it had taken around 12 months of planning, including structural surveys, before the trees could be removed.

He said this was just the first step in a long-term horticultural project to protect the fort, which would take place over the next five to 10 years.

The well-known historic site has been part of the Plymouth landscape since Victorian times, when it was built to protect the Royal Dockyard at Devonport from any invasion by the French.

Occupied by the Ministry of Defence until the late 1980s, the fort has since taken on a new lease of life thanks to the Landmark Trust, an independent charity which restores buildings of historic importance and has since gone on to become a popular visitor attraction.

"The fort is incredible," said Jamie. "To actually get down and walk around it is fascinating."