Allerton Oak tree speaks live on ITV's This Morning

Liverpool’s Allerton Oak has urged people to vote for it in the European tree of the Year competition in what could well be a first for UK television.

ITV’s This Morning visited the 1,000 year old oak in Calderstones Park to highlight the contest, in which the tree is the UK’s contender.

Presenter Alison Hammond explained the competition, the UK round of which is run by the Woodland Trust, and interviewed Liverpool City Council park ranger John Warren.

Through “tree whisperer” Holly Worton, Alison asked the Allerton Oak a series of questions about how it felt to be in the competition. It “said” it was honoured to be taking part and asked people to vote...

The 1,000 year old Allerton Oak, from which acorns and leaves were plucked and sent to serviceman fighting abroad during the Second World War as a token of good luck, is up against 15 trees nominated by our European neighbours.

The contest – in which Spain, France and Russia all have entries - is run by the European Environmental Partnership, bringing together European nations to celebrate the stories and community connections of landmark trees.

Voting for the competition ends this Saturday, 29 February at treeoftheyear.org/vote

Winners will be announced at the European Parliament in Brussels on March 17th.