THE NATURAL beauty of a street will be destroyed if the trees are chopped down, says a resident who has launched a campaign.

Community website Wansteadium said notices have recently gone up in St Mary's Avenue, Wanstead, announcing that 11 Horse Chestnut trees will be cut down in the next four weeks.

The letter said: “During an annual inspection of the streets trees they were considered to be structurally unsound due to internal decay.”

This has prompted Peter Daly to write a letter to Redbridge council demanding a suspension of the planned works until a second opinion from a tree surgeon has been sought and residents have been consulted.

Mr Daly has expressed ‘extreme concern about the proposed barbarity’ of cutting down the trees.

He added: “Removing this number of trees will destroy the natural beauty of this road for many generations.”