AFTER a particularly severe storm in the summer a Swindon hotel is hoping that lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place.

On July 3 the 150-year-old Wellingtonia tree which sat at the front of Blunsdon House Hotel was hit by a bolt of lightning and sheared in two.

Fire officers and tree surgeons from Swindon Council had been called and were working out how to make the tree safe when the top half fell on the roof of the hotel's entrance and smashed a panel.

The tree had measured more than 100ft, but was almost destroyed in the storm, and experts confirmed that it would not grow again.

After the chaos of the storm the tree was carved into the shape of an owl and unveiled at the end of August.

Now, to celebrate its new lease of life, the hotel wants to uncover old memories of the tree - and to hear from anyone who may have memories or old photographs of it.

As a bonus, the oldest memories will be rewarded with a meal for two at the hotel, which is run by the Clifford family.

Carrie Clifford said: "As a family we were saddened to see it destroyed and rather than cut it down we were so pleased to find a woodcarver who could create such a long lasting and fitting feature.

"This tree has been the setting of so many family and wedding memories here at the hotel and we would love people to come forward and tell us theirs. When my eldest son was a baby we used to sit underneath it - and he is now 28."

Hotel sales and marketing manager Jane Day, to whom pictures and memories should be sent, said: "It's in an area where photographs would be taken for weddings and things like that, and it's also right at the front door of the hotel so it should be in a lot of pictures."

Blunsdon House Hotel opened in 1957, but the building was originally a hunting lodge built at the beginning of the 19th century, so is slightly older than the tree.

To enter, send photographs to Jane Day at the hotel or call 01793 720624 to discuss any memories.