An overachieving apple tree growing in Sussex is now producing 250 different varieties of apple, all from its own branches.

The 20 foot-high tree in Chidham, West Sussex, has been tended to by owner Paul Barnett for more than 20 years and is now capable of producing as many types of apple as a large orchard.

Mr Barnett, 40, has grafted 250 varieties of apple tree onto the trunk of this garden marvel, and the tree now boasts everything from the rare cooking apples known as Withington Fillbasket, to Winter Gem apples.

The tree is now laden with so many different types of apple – including eating, cooking and cider apples – that Mr Barnett has been forced to label each of the branches so he knows what he is picking.

“I started working at a nursery with acres of land and around 90 varieties of apple trees in rows,” he told Metro.

“I wanted to grow my own trees but I didn’t have the area to plant that number so I started my ‘family tree’. I add to it each year by budding in the summer and grafting in the winter.”

The Winter Gem apple is Mr Barnett’s top pick – he describes it as “crunchy, crisp and sweet.”