Residents have been left confused and upset as trees and shrubbery are ripped up for “no reason”.

With great love and respect for the environment and wildlife, Karen Hodgson was shocked to see a tree being chopped down on Cumwhinton Drive, Carlisle, despite “only having a broken branch”.

And now, the concerned resident has spoken out, asking Carlisle City Council for answers.

“My mother-in-law has lived on the road for 62 years, and those trees have been there for most of that time," she said.

"They're absolutely beautiful, and the blossoms are gorgeous, and it's at this time of the year when birds are nesting, and bees and other insects are using the blossoms, so it's shocking that the council has decided to chop them down now."

Mrs Hodgson continued: "My husband and I are bird watchers, so we're very worried that nesting birds have been disturbed.

"The trees are apparently checked before they're chopped down, but [some] nests are barely visible until it's too late.

"If everybody keeps cutting trees down all over the place, there won't be anything left for wildlife, and it's a really big worry."

A spokesperson for Carlisle City Council addressed the resident’s concerns, and said: “The tree work was programmed for the winter, but was delayed.

“We try and undertake tree removals in the winter months and outside of nesting, but tree work can continue throughout the nesting period as long as an ecological assessment is done on every tree prior to work taking place."

While Mrs Hodgson is concerned about the removal of trees and other shrubbery throughout the city, including her own road, Hopes Hill Drive, she says a resolution to the issue would be to replace any removed trees as soon as possible – "it's the least that could be done", she added.

The council spokesperson confirmed this would be the case, and said: "Unfortunately the [removed] tree was diseased.

"Our intention was to take some of the weight from the crown of the tree in an attempt to keep it a few more years, but as cherry trees do not respond well to being hard pruned it would have only accelerated its decline, so the only option was to remove it.

“Every tree we remove in an urban setting is replaced the following season.”