Organised by local Greenpeace member Sue Kitching from Knaresborough, it was planted to mark Knaresborough’s twinning with Sipson – the village earmarked for destruction if the proposed third runway at Heathrow Airport goes ahead.

The ceremony at Henshaws Arts and Crafts Centre at Bond End saw Sue join forces with MP Phil Willis and Knaresborough’s Mayor and Mayoress, Couns Mavis Clemmitt and Jean Burdett, and representatives from the Friends of the Earth and the Woodland Trust.

“Last month celebrities and politicians planted an apple orchard on the runway site as a mark of opposition to the plans for a new runway,” Sue said.

“The planting of the orchard represented the re-introduction of the breed into the area and was designed to act as a potent symbol of the local community’s determination to stop the runway and save their homes and schools.

“The planting of an apple tree in Knaresborough will be a symbol of solidarity. Now we will have our own apple tree to show them they have support up and down the country in the fight to save their community and save the climate.

“The people in Sipson have fought a brave campaign to save their village from the bulldozers and to save our environment from the climate wrecking effects of a new runway at Heathrow.

“We hope their orchard will be bearing fruit in years to come, instead of being under tarmac, and, as long as their orchard stands, then we hope our tree in Knaresborough will grow as well and show that people here care.”

Before this week’s summit on climate change in Denmark, Sue spent a weekend showing people around the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior, which was on its way to the country’s capital, Copenhagen.