AN elderly Spa couple are desperately seeking funding to chop down the tree they say has blighted the past two years of their lives.

Joan Brown, 62 and her disabled husband Leonard, 60 are struggling to find the means to remove a 7ft tree from the garden of their sheltered accommodation home.

After contacting various agencies including the Housing Association, they have turned to the Advertiser for help.

The Steynors Close resident said: "We have been trying to get this tree removed for the past two years, but to no avail.

"The tree is very dangerous. It is in our back garden and when it drops berries it makes the pathway very slippery for my husband and myself.

"My husband is in a wheelchair and loves going down to the greenhouse at the bottom of the garden but with the path being so dangerous he has fallen over a few times."

Joan added that she also suffers from asthma and has trouble walking down the path to reach the washing line. If they could remove the tree she said she would be able to hang the line nearer the house.

She added: "We have tried asking the Housing Association to remove the tree but they say they don't have the money. We don't either."

Cllr Graham Gopsill (Lib Dem-Central) is keen to help thecouple.He said: "I am trying to contact charities at the moment to see if they can help. If anyone would like to offer their services, please feel free to contact me on 01905 29022," Cllr Gopsill added.

Executive director of the Spa Housing Association, Clare Huyton said: "Normally it is the tenants responsibility to remove trees and shrubs from their own gardens but on this occassion we did make extensive enquiries to help the couple but because of the specific work she wants doing it has been unable to happen."