Campaigners are fighting to save an ancient oak said to be haunted by spirits.

They strongly object to the felling of the tree, which is believed to have stood in Worthing since the 19th Century.

Conservationist Chris Hare said: "This tree is a vital part of Worthing's heritage. It is known as The Midsummer Tree.

"Although it lost a significant trunk branch many years ago, the tree, despite appearing rotten inside, is actually robust and healthy. A hollow tree may be as stable and sound as any other.

"The branches that have already been cut off are clearly sound pieces of wood displaying no signs of disease."

Mr Hare said the late Wilf Page, former landlord of The Cricketers pub at Broadwater, passed on the tale of Worthing's Midsummer Tree to him in 1987.

He told The Argus: "It was believed long ago that skeletons would rise up from the roots of this tree on Midsummer's Eve and dance around the tree.

"The origin of the Midsummer Tree is to be found in England's pagan past, when Midsummer, rather than Hallowe'en, was viewed as the most auspicious time to commune with the spirit world."

But Margaret King, spokeswoman for tree-cutting company InterRoute, which is working for the highways agency, said: "Our arboriculturalist has advised that the tree is suffering from brown cubicle rot. It will eventually degrade the timber completely. However, prior to this it will degrade the wood in a way which makes it brittle and prone to sudden failure.

"It is impossible to establish the overall speed at which the decay is progressing as no detailed monitoring of progress has been undertaken in the past.

"The tree is located within approximately three metres of a heavily used footway and approximately five metres of a very heavily used trunk road, neither of which can be diverted. The removal of this tree, which could be viewed as a terrible loss, must also be viewed as part of a natural process whereby trees grow, mature, die and are then replaced by new trees.

"InterRoute has a duty of care to the road users and pedestrians alike. It would be considered highly negligent in a court of law had no immediate action been taken and the tree collapsed thereby causing injury."

West Sussex County Council has been clearing hundreds of trees which, it believes, pose a similar threat to the public.

Great swathes of trees and undergrowth have been removed on the A259 at Climping, near Littlehampton, and at Tortington, near Arundel, while in Worthing Road, East Preston, specimens with Dutch Elm disease have been felled.

Dozens of trees have also been cut down around Worthing, although the county council said replacement saplings would be planted.