Anger after two 70ft trees are chopped down in Horfield over an Anti-Social Behaviour Order

Residents have expressed anger after the council cut down two 70ft trees - after a single complaint by a neighbour.

Bristol City Council took down the enormous cypress trees in Druetts Close, Horfield, despite a sit-in protest and a campaign by local families.

The trees were given an Anti-Social Behaviour Order and classified as ‘hedges’ - in a move mocked as ‘ridiculous’ by locals residents.

The trees have sat in the quiet cul-de-sac for 50 years and were popular with kids and wildlife including birds and squirrels.

But Bristol City Council slapped them with a felling notice which has been pinned to one of the trees - classing them as a “nuisance”.

They have now been chopped down.

Locals say there was one complaint about the trees - by someone who said they blocked their light.

Speaking when they trees were served notice, a Bristol City Council spokesperson said: “The action being taken is not a matter of council policy.

“But it is to ensure compliance with national legislation, which designates this type of tree as a hedge.

“We are responding to a complaint about the hedge, in line with the legislation, and have reviewed the options available to us.

“Reducing these trees to the necessary size would leave them unlikely to survive and removing and replanting the tree has been agreed as the best option.

“We have received a number of comments from local residents supporting this approach.

“We’re also investigating and offering further tree-planting spots to bring us closer to our aim of doubling the city’s tree canopy by 2046.’’

One resident said: ‘’It’s bonkers. Everybody is really sad about it.”

“It’s a real shame, because those trees have been there since the early 1970s, at the same time as the estate was built.’’