THEY are thousands of years old and attract visitors from across the world to marvel at their intricate carvings.

Now the famous Easter Island moai statue, a central American Indian Olmec and Corinthian Greek warrior, have been re-created in 20ft high topiary in Edinburgh by a dedicated gardener who has spent 2,000 hours sculpting and maintaining.

Father-of-one Michael Kaplan, 57, trims the trees six times a year using garden shears.

His incredible work has become a hit on the outskirts of Edinburgh.

The front garden yew tree was “dying back” because of frost and wind damage, so rather than cutting it down he decided to reinvigorate the sad looking bush.

Married Michael, a vermouth compounder, has spent the last two decades carving the three heads. He said: “The tree started to become diseased and the top had to be cut off.

“They were looking sad and unfortunate and began to sprout at the bottom so rather than having them cut down I thought maybe I would do something about it.

“I did a bit of research looking at different cultures known for large-headed statues then came up with these three.

“The yew tree started dying back at the top, because of wind damage or frost, and therefore was cut off. The assumption was the tree would not survive.

“I started on them 20 years ago and it was several years before they began to take shape.

“You start off with the basic shape and then get more and more detailed as the foliage fills in the holes.

“I trim the trees six times a year.”