A pine tree planted in memory of George Harrison has been killed - by beetles.

The sapling, with a small plaque at the base commemorating the former Beatle, was installed in 2004 in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, and had grown to more than 10ft last year.

Harrison, who died in 2001, was a keen gardener and spent his final days in Los Angeles.

But Los Angeles Councilman Tom LaBonge told The Los Angeles Times that the tree will be replanted because the original died as the result of an insect infestation.

The newspaper said that the British star would have appreciated the irony - having once said his biggest break in life was getting into the Beatles and his second was getting out.

The plaque at the base read: "In memory of a great humanitarian who touched the world as an artist, a musician and a gardener."

Harrison died in 2001, aged 58, from lung cancer.

He was cremated at Hollywood Forever Cemetery and his ashes were scattered in the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers in India.