CAIRNEYHILL woman Anne Sinclair is celebrating enjoying her garden again after trees behind her home were finally given the chop.

Anne contacted the Press in desperation earlier this month after she’d been left in the dark when greenery to the back of her property had been allowed to grow more than 40 feet tall.

She contacted Fife Council in March 2017 to have something done and ended up forking out £380 to take out a High Hedges Notice so that it could be dealt with.

After a year-long battle for action, the council had originally told Anne they would be unable to resolve the issue until the bird nesting season finished in September.

However, after the story appeared in the Press, she was pleased to see the arrival of workmen last Tuesday and the work to cut them down to a more respectable 3.3 metres has now been completed.

“It’s amazing,” said a delighted Anne. “It’s an entirely different landscape altogether – its opened up so much. 

"The difference is quite literally night and day. 

"Thanks again for your help ... I’ve had to go and buy sunglasses as the light is blinding me!” she joked.

“Its disgraceful the amount of wasted time and effort it has taken to get to this point – a year and nearly £400!

"If the trees had been managed properly to begin with, then all of this wouldn’t have been necessary. Surely prevention is better and more economical than a solution.

“Fife Council’s policy on tree management, if nothing else, verges on irresponsible in my opinion. 

"It may be ecologically- and environmentally-friendly but you must apply common sense to that ethos and contain it, otherwise we’ll end up living in a jungle.

“Continually hiding behind the bird-nesting season, which lasts for seven months of the year, to me, is an excuse and panacea for doing nothing.”

Fife Council were able to carry out the work last week after ensuring there were no birds in the nests. 

Derek Simpson, lead officer in development management, said the delay occurred as a high hedge notice had also been served on a private land owner of a neighbouring property at the end of May and because birds had originally been seen nesting in the trees. 

“This notice requires the hedge to be cut back to a height of 3.5m, then maintained at a height of no more than 4m,” he said.

“The landowners have three months to comply with the high hedge decision notice, which took effect in early July.”