FOUR trees in Snails Lane, Devizes, are at the centre of a dispute after a conservationist stopped Kennet District council contractors from felling them on Monday.

Mark Wickham, who lives in nearby Castle Lane, Devizes, was furious when he saw the men preparing to fell the trees.

He said: "This is an absolute disaster for wildlife, especially at this time of the year. Blackbirds, wrens, robins, chaffinches and so on will be nesting in these trees. I feel extremely strongly that it is not on for Kennet to do this kind of work at this time of year.

"What really upsets me is that as soon as the weather improves, people start coming out with their chainsaws and get stuck into trees and hedgerows with no thought of the consequences for wildlife.

"I sympathise with the people who live near the trees, but the timing of the felling could not have been worse. I love trees in the town and the way we are going there is going to be nothing in the centre of Devizes but tarmac and concrete."

The district council stopped the work after being contacted by Mr Wickham. A meeting was called on Monday afternoon to discuss the matter.

But the cessation of work has upset Barbara Henning, 74, who lives in the Castle Lane sheltered homes, said residents had asked the council to take action because they claimed the 70ft sycamore trees blighted their gardens.

She said: "I am a great lover of wildlife and the action taken by the council has upset me very much. I asked them in August to cut back the trees because the leaves cut out so much light to our gardens and cause such a mess in the autumn.

"When we moved in here six and a half years ago we were told the trees would be going, but nothing has happened. It took me a whole winter of writing and phoning to get the council to do something about those trees, and now it looks as if they are going to be left there.

"There are lots of trees round here. It is only those on our boundary that we want something done about."

Two of the trees were eventually felled on Tuesday. Kennet District Council has since released a statement saying it took action to coppice four self seeded sycamore trees, or remove branches, after receiving complaints from residents.

It said the trees are on council-owned land and not in a conservation area. It added that the contractor had taken care to look and see if any birds were nesting in the trees before starting work.

In the autumn it is intended to plant fruiting species of trees, including gelda rose, hawthorn, hazel, thorn and snowberry.