Thurston protesters climb trees to stop felling for cycle path

Some protesters have been in the trees since Sunday to prevent their felling

Protesters have scaled 100-year-old oak trees to prevent them being cut down by a housing developer to make a cycle path.

More than 1,300 people have also signed a petition to stop the felling on Ixworth Road in Thurston, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

Persimmon Homes said cutting down the trees was "unavoidable".

But resident Christopher Wells said: "It's wanton destruction to take them down."

He said the cycle path could have been "put on the other side of the trees and then [they could] leave the trees here".

The protesters want the felling halted and the removed trees to be replaced "like-for-like"

Some protesters have been strapped up in the trees since Sunday to stop them being removed.

Persimmon Homes has already cut down some of the trees alongside the road, but would not say if the protesters had delayed its plans to remove others.

Work to fell some of the trees on Ixworth Road has already begun

Liz Ambler, one of those behind the petition, said she felt "devastated" at the loss of the trees.

She said: "I'm not an activist, but I'm a local resident and I can't understand the need to cut down these trees when there is a perfectly adequate alternative."

A spokesman for Persimmon Homes Suffolk said the removal of the tree was "unavoidable due to the need to achieve a safe cycleway and the required visibility splays".

He said work was agreed after discussions with Mid Suffolk District Council.

The cycle path is being built to support the the construction of 250 new houses in Thurston

The council described the works as "essential", adding: "We have sought advice from our arboricultural officer, and have secured a detailed landscaping scheme for this development which will introduce new hedgerow planting across the site."

The protesters said they are now considering legal action to protect the trees.