TAVISTOCK?s fire chief this week issued a warning to farmers, following an incident with a dangerously unstable tree in the Mary Tavy area. The town?s fire crew were attending an oil spillage on the A386 at the edge of Blackdown on Tuesday morning, when firefighters noticed the condition of a tree on the hedge. Station officer Tim Smith said: 'We noticed it was rocking dangerously, it was very precarious. ?We got the highways department out and we literally tied the tree to the engine and pulled it over. ?It was so dead with ivy you couldn?t tell what tree it was ? it could have killed someone if it had fallen over.? Mr Smith appealed to farmers in the area to check the condition of trees on their land regularly ? particularly if they were situated next to the highway.