16968VISITORS to one of the world's largest mazes will no longer have to struggle their way to the centre after the completion of a 10-metre tall tower.

BBC presenters Ben Fogle and Kate Humble joined Lord Bath at Longleat Safari Park on Thursday to officially open the £150,000 feature.

Colerne-based Carpenter Oak & Woodland Ltd built the new addition, which is situated at the heart of almost 3km of paths.

Lord Bath, who cut the ribbon, said: "This makes a lovely piece. It gives a much better viewing point to view the entire maze and to see more of the people struggling and their expressions and frustration.

"It was only last year that we felt the old one was not large enough to take the crowds going round and we needed something bigger."

The tower, which dwarfs the older viewing points, will offer visitors the chance to plan their route.

Former reality TV contestant Fogle, who is at Longleat filming the new series of Animal Park, welcomed the tower.

"I've been lost in here when filming before so it's great," he said.

"I hadn't actually realised it was made by a company called Carpenter Oak who made the living pods that I stayed in all those years ago when I was on Castaway.

"On a nice sunny day I think it will be a perfect place to sun yourself before descending back into the depths of the maze."

Co-presenter Kate Humble said: "The great thing is that it gives you something to aim for and your mates can stand here and direct you.

"It looks like a helter-skelter and is very Longleat. It's quirky, fun and has a sense of humour and is a great addition to the maze."

The 25-tonne centrepiece was formed out of original timber from the estate's 1,600-hectare sustainable forest.

Carpenter Oak chairman Charley Brentnall said: "We do all shapes and designs, and have done towers before, but it was the first time we have done one with a central tree in the middle."

After laying down scaffolding on top of the hedgerows, the tower was lifted over the top of the maze with a crane.

Project manager Will Latrobe-Bateman said: "The project was first discussed almost a year ago but we only started work on it at the beginning of March. It took a lot of planning but it worked remarkably smoothly in the end."

The new series of Animal Park, featuring the park's latest showpiece, is due to be screened this autumn.