Could this tree in Dorset be the best in Britain?

The 330-year-old Tolpuddle Martyrs' Tree has been shortlisted for Tree of the Year.

In 1834, six agricultural labourers who were being exploited by their employers are said to have had their first meeting under the sycamore tree, where they formed a trade union to campaign for better pay.

The Tolpuddle Six were arrested, charged with taking an illegal secret oath and then sentenced to seven years of hard labour at Botany Bay in Australia.

They were pardoned in 1836 after 800,000 people signed a petition calling for their release. The tree has since become a place of pilgrimage for trade unionists.

Nigel Costley, regional secretary of the South West TUC, said: “At a time when the right to strike is again being challenged, it’s important to remember what the Martyrs’ Tree stands for."

Ten trees from across England have been shortlisted in the Woodland’s Trust’s Tree of the Year competition. Other trees in the shortlist include Old Man of Calke, Ankerwycke Yew and Glastonbury Holy Thorn.

The winning tree will be entered into the European Tree of the Year competition, organised by the Environmental Partnership Association.

To cast your vote, visit woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/tree-of-the-year/england/