Rotten tree narrowly avoids falling onto children's play area

Andrew Finan, who runs the Park Garage on St John’s Street in Horbury Bridge, says that the tree was not dealt with quickly enough by the council.

He says that if the tree had fallen in the opposite direction, the consequences could have been catastrophic.

Mr Finan said: “The council have said there’s nothing wrong with them, but the tree was rotting.”

“There’s a children’s play area with a number of trees just near it.

“Who knows what damage it could have caused had it gone the other way.

“I’ve mentioned this numerous times to the council.

“If it had fell to the other side then it would have crushed cars and if kids were playing then who knows what could have happened.

“I’ve counted and there are exactly 23 trees all lined up, straight across from the park.

“Big branches have fallen before but this is the first time that one of the trees has fallen down.

“I reported it straight away but I’ve previously told the council six weeks ago that the trees are a problem.”

Glynn Humphries, Service Director for Environment and Streetscene for Wakefield Council, said: “We have a planned programme to check the safety and condition of all our trees across the district and as a part of this, the tree was due to be inspected before Christmas.

“However, as soon as we were made aware of the fallen tree, we visited the site to carry out a full inspection of all the trees in the area to make sure that no others are at risk of falling.

“The fallen tree has now been removed and we will visit the area again in six months to thoroughly assess the condition of the remaining trees, when they are in leaf.

“The maintenance and upkeep of trees is a priority to keep our communities safe.

“We do ask that if residents have any concerns about the condition of a tree they can report this to us by calling 0345 8506 506.”