TV favourite John Craven unveils tree carving

The TV presenter, who recently celebrated 25 years fronting BBC's Countryfile, was on a day-long tour of the county visiting Staffordshire Wildlife Trust projects.

He met sculptor Anthony Hammond who invited him to put the finishing touches to a spectacular carving made from the trunk of a Cedar of Lebanon tree at the trust's site in Wolseley Bridge, near Rugeley.

He described the artwork, which depicts a couple of playful otters as well as other local wildlife, as 'outstanding'.

It was the former Newsround presenter's last stop on a visit to the county which also included a trip to a heathland grazing project in Cannock Chase and a talk at the Staffordshire County Showground to raise funds for the Wildlife Trust. Proceeds from the talk will go towards the trust's work, looking after wildlife on 26 nature reserves across the county, as well as organising hundreds of conservation projects and educational events.

Afterwards he revealed he had a soft spot for the south Staffordshire area, particularly Cannock Chase, which he has visited several times for his Countryfile programme.

He said: "We've featured the bike trails there, the deer deaths and lots of other stories. It's fantastic there, and a favourite spot of mine."

The large cedar tree at Wolseley Bridge has been a popular landmark at the 25-acre trust headquarters but battering from the weather over the years had made the branches dangerous. Rather than lose the tree altogether, the trust commissioned a sculpture.

Staffordshire artist Mr Hammond took less than two weeks to complete the bulk of the carving using a chainsaw.

Trust chief executive Guy Marshall said: "Anthony has done a lot of work down the ages but this is the pinnacle."

A crowd of around 50 people attended the unveiling. The TV star was invited to chisel part of the date to finish off the sculpture.

Later he stressed the value of the trusts's work in the county. "It is important to leave rural places like Cannock Forest in their urban settings for those who live in cities, and the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust has done well to make so many available."

John Craven rose to fame in the 1970s as the face of childrens' news show Newsround.

He was also involved in programmes including Swap Shop and Saturday Superstore before launching Countryfile – a programme he has spent over 25 years presenting.

The wildlife trust is a leading force in urging communities across the county to make improvements to their surroundings and recruits volunteers to help clean up sites.

Earlier this month nature lovers joined in its efforts to tidy up an area of reedbed at The Acres in Gnosall, a 25-acre recreational property. The effort was part of the trust's Wild about Stafford Project. It is wildlife area owned and managed by Gnosall's parish council for everyone to enjoy all year round.

Other trust projects include appealing for residents to give a helping hand to expand its bird survey to include wintering wetland birds at the trust's Croxall Lakes Nature Reserve near Lichfield. The data will be used for the British Trust for Ornithology's national Wetland Bird Survey.