Ancient yew in ruined Surrey abbey crowned UK tree of the year

Waverley Abbey's 500-year-old living legend' wins contest, as experts seek greater protection for ancient trees

A gnarled yew whose twisted trunk has been growing for more than half a millennium has been crowned tree of the year.

The roots of the yew snake around the ruins of Waverley Abbey in Surrey, which was the first monastery founded in Britain by the Cistercian religious order in 1128.