Relic from the Lynmouth Flood?

This was spotted just by the memorial for the Middleham cottages which were destroyed in the 1952 “Lynmouth Flood Disaster”:http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/About_Exmoor/ExmoorLynmouthFloods1952.htm, and it intrigues me!

That’s right: it’s a cot frame *through* a tree. This photo shows one of the ends; the base of the cot is also present in/near the tree, but I don’t think the other end is (it was nearly dark when I took the photo, so I couldn’t see much).

My question: what on Earth do you have to do to make this happen? Why would the tree not push it out of the way while growing? My guess is that the branch split all those years ago, and somehow the 3rd bar on the frame got stuck in the split. And then the tree went on growing around it.

Is this related to the flood disaster? It would make a lovely story if it was…