By Ed Chatterton
Workers have begun the "world's toughest gardening job" by using a cherry picker to painstakingly trim the 300-year-old hedges at a historic castle.
Brave gardener Dan Bull will spend the next two months undertaking the mammoth task at Powis Castle in Welshpool, mid Wales.
Dan uses a hydraulic cherry-picker with a pair of electric shears to prune the gigantic 55ft (16m) yew hedge at the National Trust venue.
It will take around eight weeks for the 1 to clip all the topiary ‘tumps’ back into their familiar cloud-like shape and keep them in pristine condition.
Originally planted in the 18th century, the 15,000sq m of formal hedging is considered one of the greatest examples of Baroque garden design in Britain.
Dan said: "The views from the top are incredible.
"The v