A historic tree in Ramsey planted to mark the visit of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert has fallen victim to Storm Darragh.

Two silver firs were planted at Claughbane farmhouse in 1847 when Victoria and Albert visited the island – one for each royal.

These trees were even mentioned in the poem ‘The Home Place’ by celebrated Manx poet Josephine Kermode - known by her pen name Cushag - when she lived at Claughbane.

The tree planted for Prince Albert fell during a storm on January 22, 1990, and, sadly, the one for Queen Victoria was toppled overnight on Saturday into Sunday despite being around 100ft high.

Jasmine Lilleby, whose mum lives at Claughbane, is currently visiting and was there at the weekend. She is sad to see the tee fall but admits it could have been worse.

She said: ‘I could not believe it when I saw what happened. It is very sad and I had a few moments yesterday.

‘The garden looks so different now. It was the focal point of the whole garden. If Josephine described them as Herculean back in approximately 1905, you can imagine the size of this tree today.

‘Luckily, it feel away from the property into the other trees and stopped just at the border. Had it fallen the other way it would have hit the house and probably the bedroom in which I’m sleeping.

‘Claughbane is well known in Ramsey and the community here probably know about the trees too. So it is a real loss.’

The Isle of Man felt the full force of Storm Darragh over the weekend as winds of up to 80mph downed trees, shut roads and left homes without power.

The Department of Infrastructure (DoI) were called out to over 160 locations across the island as staff worked to clear more than 200 downed trees.

An amber weather warning for severe winds, issued by the Ronaldsway Met Office, came into effect at 3am on Saturday morning (December 7) and remained in place until 11.59pm on Saturday evening.

The worst of the storm hit the island at 4am on Saturday morning as winds tore down a number of trees, blocking a number of areas.