Kew Gardens has revealed that it lost 20 trees as a result of Storm Eunice.

While staff at the world renowned botanical gardens said the loss of the trees was very sad, the situation could have been far worse.

The great storm of October 15, 1987, changed the face of the gardens irrevocably when some 700 trees were felled by Hurricane force winds of up to 115mph. Many were historic and centuries-old, leaving staff heartbroken.

A spokesman said: "We're sad to have lost around 20 trees at Kew Gardens due to Storm Eunice.

"Things could have been much worse without our dedicated Tree Gang who look after our 14,000 trees, seven days a week."

The Tree Gang are Kew's arboricultural team, made up of six to eight members who are dedicated to the growth, care, maintenance and risk management of the trees.

Contrary to tree surgeons, aboriculturists need to have a much deeper and more scientific knowledge of trees and understand the complete life cycle of a tree from propagation to maturity.