FROM the dizzy heights of 100ft trees in Denver, a West Devon tree surgeon has come back to earth with a bump as he looks forward to taking on slightly smaller species at home this year.

Paul Greenhill, 28, has just returned from a year?s work in Colorado, where he found the size of trees and machinery a far cry from the leafy back gardens of West Devon.

He said: ?Denver isn?t like the East or West where the really huge trees are ? it?s basically a high plains desert. There were a lot of very wealthy people that had whatever trees they wanted ? and just threw money at them. They were consistently a lot bigger than over here.?

And bigger trees meant bigger machinery ? like a chipper that could tackle a 16-inch bough.

?We use six inch ones here!? said Paul.

He said the way he was taught to climb was very different from his US counterparts ? which often meant he took on the tallest trees.

His most memorable job was when he worked on a champion Scarlet Oak tree in the Denver Royal Britannic Gardens.

?It had been struck by lightning and had lost a couple of big limbs. I had to install a lightning protection system ? it was over 100ft high and I had to get as high up the tree as possible.

?I got to about six feet from the top ? you?re not on very big branches up there!? said Paul.

He said it was not just the size of the trees or the equipment that proved different ? the weather played a big part in how jobs could be tackled.

With temperatures regularly in the high nineties and with low humidity, Paul said the crews took gallon containers of water to work, which were quickly polished off by the thirsty workers.

And having taken special work trousers, boots and other safety gear with him, he soon found working practices different too.

?They were surprisingly lax,? said Paul. ?We are way more strict over here, but I just couldn?t wear my stuff with the heat, you just couldn?t do it. I felt quite naked to start with, it was quite scary.?

The temperatures were not all at the high end of the thermometer however.

Paul said the weather could be ?freaky? ? and unpredictable.

?The saying in Colorado is if you don?t like the weather, wait an hour,? he said.

?Just before I left, we had six feet of snow in 36 hours. It pretty much brought the place to a standstill ? I snowboarded off the roof of the house, it was that bad.

?Every tree had some kind of damage because of the weight of the snow. When I left they were still taking trees off roofs and cars,? said Paul.

He said his year in Colorado was a fantastic experience which enabled him to see some great sights, like the Grand Canyon and Rocky Mountains, in addition to learning valuable new skills.

Now he is safely back in Tavistock, he is looking forward to putting his new skills and ideas into practice and has even recruited a new worker ? his father John is due to join him in business later this summer.