This is the gnarly face of the Green Man who was found lurking in Thorncombe Woods by 12-year-old Spencer, who spotted him when out walking with his grandparents.
While most images of the Green Man are sculpted, particularly those in churches, or carved in trees, this character looks like he has grown naturally over time, perhaps centuries.

Ian Mackenzie said: “My wife Liz and I were walking through Thorncombe Woods, when my grandson Spencer called out to us that he had spotted ‘a man in the woods’. We were taken aback when we saw this face of the Green Man lurking in the woods with a hand outstretched as if to grab us. I thought it was great to stumble upon him.
“It looks as if the Green Man has been carved but it is a natural phenomenon and is natural in the way that the tree has grown, although if it is an underlying force of nature which has made it into the Green Man or just a coincidence, we will just never know.
“We have since been in Thorncombe Woods, and he is still there, lurking in the woods and celebrating the spirit of nature.”
The Green Man is a Pagan symbol, believed to embody the cycle of life, death and re-birth, heralding the spring and the renewal of nature.
However, from 500BC, it is believed people carved human faces into the trees to strengthen their relationship with the woodlands around them.
Leaves and stems twist around the features of the Green Man, usually originating from the mouth.