From tree surgeon to rally driver

An Armagh tree surgeon who races cars in her spare time says the job is “not as scary as you’d imagine”.

Letisha Conn, 20, from Newtownhamilton in County Armagh joined her father’s tree surgery business in 2023 and has since become a full-time tree surgeon.

And this is not the first time she has followed in her father Stephen’s footsteps.

She grew up watching him race rally cars, and in 2021 – at the age of 16 – she made history becoming the first girl to take an outright win on a Junior Rally in any UK Junior Rally Championship.

Letisha’s journey into the family business began when she started giving her dad a hand during the school holidays and throughout the summer break.

She decided becoming a tree surgeon was the career for her after leaving college.

“I was enjoying the work, so I decided to stick at it,” she said.

One of the main challenges she and other tree surgeons face is working from dizzying heights, but despite this she said the job is “a lot safer” than people imagine.

The variety of work that comes with being a tree surgeon is something that attracted her to the role.

“Everyday there is something new,” she told BBC News NI.

The level of damage caused by Storm Éowyn was a new experience for a newly-qualified tree surgeon as she saw “so much damage after the storm”.

Despite the challenges she said “it has been a really good learning curve”.

Rallying has also been in Letisha’s blood.

“I was seven when my dad got me my first go kart,” she said.

She started rallying competitively when she turned 13, and in 2024 she competed in the Ulster Rally alongside her father; the pair took to the course in their red BMW.

Things did not go according to plan with the pair experiencing an overshoot that left Letisha with a nasty shoulder injury.

“You are so in the zone you don’t even notice how dangerous it actually is,” she said.

Her plan for 2025 is to “ease back into the seat” after the injuries, this will see Letisha “do as many rounds of the Northern Ireland championship as possible”.

The two worlds Letisha finds herself in would typically have been seen as male dominated, but that has not put her off.

If anything, it has made her even more determined.

“Everyone has been very friendly, I’ve never had any bother, it’s been nothing but good attention”.

She said she is “proud” to be following in her father’s footsteps with both tree surgery and rally driving.

“He has been my biggest support, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to thank him enough,” she added.