ONE man's battle to save trees on a Stourport estate from the axeman has brought a change of policy by Worcestershire County Council.

Peter Barrass went to the Local Government Ombudsman after four maple trees were axed in Field End, on Lickhill Lodge Estate, leaving the once-leafy road "looking like a barrack square."

The Stourport town councillor said he had been frustrated in his attempts to find out why the trees had been felled in 2001.

He said: "I felt as though the highways partnership unit, of which the county council is the main partner, which was responsible for the trees kept fobbing me off."

He has now received the ombudsman's report which states the trees were felled because a highways officer had decided they were a risk following a complaint from a resident.

However it also points out there was no money in the county council's tree budget for "routine tree work or investigations".

A county council statement says: "Our budget of £8,000 for Wyre Forest has for some time been limited to emergency work only."

Mr Barrass said: "What this basically boils down to is that the only real reason these trees were cut down is there was no money to maintain them. I find it unbelievable they have just £8,000 for county-council managed trees in Wyre Forest."

The report also makes clear that a high-profile tree case in which a London borough ended up paying £600,000 damages had made the council fearful of litigation.

Mr Barrass had also been angry because he claimed the county council acted in an insensitive way to near neighbours of the trees.

Annette Stock, county policy and review officer, said: "Following this case and having sought specialist advice we now notify neighbours of tree works of what we are doing."

She denied the trees had been axed because of lack of money.

She said: "The highways officer took the arboriculturalist officer's advice that they were not safe."

She added that she had responded to Mr Barrass's letters.

Mr Barrass has now applied to Wyre Forest District Council for a tree preservation order to be placed on every remaining tree on the estate.