If you go down to the woods today, you could be in for a technological surprise. Where once gangs of forestry workers would have been felling trees with chain-saws, you are now more likely to see only a pair of contractors.

Two people, using equipment worth more than £500,000, can between them now fell and clear 300 tonnes of timber in a week. The operator of the felling machine must be able to programme its computer, so trees can be cut to match the size of preordered timber. If the machine malfunctions, the operator is expected to use the internet to learn how to effect running repairs.