Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length.

[justboatonic]

Have a neighbour who has let a tree grow unabated for the last 20+ years. I've no idea what type of tree it is, just it's a big one, roughly 25 foot tall and a trunk at least 2 foot thick with similar sized branches.
The eejits attempted to cut it down with a chain saw with a single, straight cut through the trunk about 2 foot above ground level. They're now bashing the roots and cutting them off in the hope of directing the direction it will fall. They intend felling this tree and allowing it to fall into the road!
No point talking to them as you just get blank looks and a volley of abuse. Im thinking of contacting the local council because this looks like it could be very dangerous but dont like being a snitch.

[raflaunches]

I thought there is a law stipulating that you can’t cut down a tree of a certain size without permission even if it’s on your land. If it’s going to land on a public road then surely Highways need contacting. 

[justboatonic]

There's no presevation order on it, it's just the safety aspect Im bothered about. None of the other neighbours seem bothered despite their cars being in any debris path!

[radiojoe]

Be a SNITCH you could save some ones life. 

[T888]

Phone The high ways and tell the council as this is a safety issue sound like they have not got the first idea as to How to drop a tree.

[Baldrick]

keep the camera handy , could be a good one for "you've been framed"

[malcolmfrary]

Snitch 'em.  It might be your car under it when it drops.
They probably have not a clue as to how many tons the thing weighs, or any idea as to how to ensure it goes in the intended direction.  Or, probably, whether or not that direction is a good idea in the first place.

[tonyH]

Years ago, a mate decided to down a tree in his garden. Had friends, myself included, pulling on rope to "direct" said tree. He'd given us the wrong end of the rope of course so result......tree through his own garage roof. You do get some idiots who acquire a £99 chain saw to do a bit of heavy pruning and then wonder when things go wrong.

[RST]

My brother is a qualified arboricultural technician,  chain saw carver at the competitons and one time european pole climbing champion.  But he's a qualified teacher for many years now.  When it's on private ground I'd say good luck. In Scotland anyway if it's not a professional company, nobody will be interested until it blocks a highway, then they'll prioritise it.  With every company and authority stretched at moment I doubt you'll get anyone on phone, but good luck with it. If it were me I'd be phoning whatever number like mad if it risked anyone other than themselves.  As he tells me, you dont't even need a ticket to call yourself a tree surgeon, but pretty much anyone can hack away with a chainsaw up here if they feel like it.


(I have a personal vendetta about anyone cutting down trees these days, most of them have more right to be there than humans!)



Sorry for being negative.


Rich

[Capt Podge]

Have a look on your local council website - there's a possibility they will have a page for reporting such matters, maybe anonymously.


Regards,
Ray.

[Tug Fanatic]

Not much point probably as the Council offices may well be closed until Monday by which time the tree will be down. I would take lots of pictures as evidence.

[justboatonic]

Snitch 'em.  It might be your car under it when it drops.
They probably have not a clue as to how many tons the thing weighs, or any idea as to how to ensure it goaes in the intended direction.  Or, probably, whether or not that direction is a good idea in the first place.

My car's in our garage. We're one of the few people around me who actually use it for the purpose.
This is more Science of Stupid stuff than You've Been Framed. And yes, they did tie a rather thin rope to an upper branch when they tried to chainsaw it down. The one lad on the end would have been catapulted through the air or had his arms ripped off if had come down and he'd have tried to keep hold of the rope.

I know they have no clue how much it weighs especially when it has momentum behind it. I estimate if will have a weight of 2.5 to 3 tons and some of the branches, even near the top of the tree, will be like projectiles when it hits the road when it comes down. They will go in all directions. Any divvie knows you cut an established tree down from the top, dont they?

The owner of the house next to these eejits was laughing and joking with them while they were trying to chainsaw it. She wont be laughing when part of a thick branch buries itself in the side and roof of her 19 reg SLK that she keeps on the drive.
Unless they get another chainsaw, it aint coming out this weekend. Well, unless there's a gale that is but next week will be 'interesting.'
As people probably suspect, Ive had 'disagreements' with these people before so dont have anything to do with them even if they are close neighbours but this is just lunacy in the making.

[BrianB6]

Over here it is mostly 'native' trees that the councils are concerned about.
We recently had a very big Cyprus taken down by professional tree surgeons.   So it cost us $3000 (1500 pounds) but it was near the house and had died off for 1/3 its height.
It was worth it just to see the experts at work and we now have plenty of mulch and firewood to heat our daughters house.

[Colin Bishop]

If a tree comes down with its branches still on the ones undeneath are compressed and bent by the weight of the trunk and the rest of the tree. Unless you know what you are doing, trying to cut them off can release the tesnsion with lethal force when the ends spring back or the trunk settles further down. Very dangerous.

Colin

[malcolmfrary]

Potentially, a demonstration of Darwinism in action.

[Colin Bishop]

Another excellent example here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-52588352

Colin

[tonyH]

Trouble with Darwinism is that he never made allowance for the emergency services to get them out of the fire!

[justboatonic]

Well while I was deliberating whether to alert the authorities someone else beat me to it!

Police turned up this morning as they were having yet another hack at the roots. Wasnt party to what went on but they have been told to stop. Hopefully they get someone in now because the roots have been really hacked at.

[TheLongBuild]

Talking about the Darwin awards , Think these 2 are up for an award.. At least they do have face masks on and initially appeared to be social distancing..


https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newsscotland/human-fireball-horror-as-arson-thugs-set-themselves-alight-after-torching-hamilton-shop/ar-BB141AjQ?ocid=spartanntp

[warspite]

Was the person videoing the incident using his phone to do so and not phoning the police?

[SteamboatPhil]

You have to keep us upto date with what's happening with the tree, I have been laughing about it from the first post, its a case of "join us after the break to see what happened next".).......


(maybe a sneaky picture)

[Tug Fanatic]

So they have a large tree in a potentially dangerous condition. Now what? Can the law force them to pay for tree surgeons?

[Baldrick]

  The Council can do it and send them the bill.

[justboatonic]

Well, earlier this week, they set about battering the roots with a pick axe and sledgie again. I decided I had to bite the bullet and go out. Needless to say they immediately started with the 'you called the police, you can eff off.'
I just told the lad to get his mother out here and suggest he stops doing what he was because you dont take a tree this size out from the bottom first in a residential cul de sac. After saying they had it all planned and intended to slowly  'guide' it down into the road, he eventually got her to come out.

We had a bit of a discussion where I expressed my concerns, not just for my property but hers, the neighbours and anyone who just happened to be walking past. I pointed out that while they hack away at it during the day, there's nothing to stop it coming down during the night onto their cars since there's no retaining ropes on it and what's left of the roots could pull out. I must say they then took off a lot of the upper branches after that, good job they did!

This morning, their 'man' turned up with with his chainsaw. Two lads had retaining straps on the upper branches although one had his hand in his pockets. And with a thud, the thing came down. Right onto the edge of my front lawn, about 12 foot from the front of my house and not where they were going to guide it! The lad with his hand in his pocket holding the retaining strap with his other was as much use as a chocolate fire guard.


Fortunately, it's done no damage but it would have done if they hadnt taken a lot of the other branches off. It fell 45 degress away from where these two clowns were supposed to be guiding it to.

All I can say is, thank goodness it's down, no one got hurt and nothing was damaged. But my god, talk about Science of Stupid!

What comes out of this? Well the local council do not want to know if there's no TPO and the tree isnt theirs. The Police, it seems, will advise if what they're doing is dangerous but stop them, I dont think they have the power. Insurance wise, if your neighbour's tree comes down and damages your property, you have to claim on your buildings insurance. Presumably, they try and recover from the neighbour's buildings insurance. Wouldnt surprise me if you see an increase in your next renewal premiums though.

In short, you're on your own and if you cannot persuade your neighbours to stop, you literally have to go legal or take action after the event.

[tigertiger]

A case in point... and this was a professional tree surgeon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8BQzueScBo