MEADOWLANDS swimming pool in Tavistock was forced to close on Saturday afternoon after a large branch from a nearby tree crashed on to the building.

The branch, weighing around three-quarters of a ton, caused considerable damage to the roof of the plant room ? luckily, no-one was injured in the incident.

Leisure centre manager Rob Whitehead said: ?We had to close the pool for safety reasons, because the branch also sealed off the fire exit at the end of the pool.

?We were able to open again on Sunday and the builders are now here doing repairs to the roof. The tree is being re-assessed by the tree surgeon, as more branches might need to come off.?

Mr Whitehead said it was ?very fortunate? that no-one was under the tree at the time.

?On a sunny day, everyone sits under that tree,? he said.

In addition to damage to the plant room, the main roof of Meadowlands was also affected by the falling branch, although luckily, the limb hit the slates rather than the glass part of the roof.

Mr Whitehead said it was not a windy day and the weather conditions were not extreme ? it was a mystery why the branch suddenly fell when it did.

?The tree is a golden beech ? I was told by the tree surgeon this type of tree is particularly prone to this sort of thing ? even just the weight of a squirrel could have caused it,? said Mr Whitehead.

Tavistock firefighters attended the scene and the area was cordoned off.

Station officer Tim Smith said: ?We made the area safe and made sure people kept away ? we don?t carry chainsaws so we couldn?t deal with the tree.

?Initially we were called because it was very close to the electricity supply ? and only SWEB has the key.?

Although the Meadows are owned by Tavistock Town Council, the tree is the responsibility of West Devon Borough Council, as it is situated on land leased by the borough on a 999-year lease.

Helen Dobby, borough contracts manager, said: ?What happened was that the weight of new growth had actually made one of the branches unsafe.

?Following this, any other trees in the area have been risk-assessed and one further branch has been taken off this particular tree.

?Everything is now totally safe ? once the tree branch was removed on Saturday the roof was risk-assessed and the pool was safe to be opened on the Sunday.?