A grandmother fears her home could get crushed by trees if action isn’t taken soon.
Lorraine Lucas, from Stockbury near Sittingbourne, has tried to take matters into her own hands by trimming back branches – but can only do so much.
“It’s very dangerous,” she said. “They are quite big and it gets very windy up here.
“If it does come down, it will come down in the middle of my bungalow. It will take out the electricity wires and the phone line.
“I feel like I’m hitting my head against a brick wall sometimes.”
The 72-year-old retiree has lived in the bungalow along Chalky Road for the last 45 years with her husband Bob.
It is a route off the A249 and connects the area of South Street to Stockbury village and Yelsted.
Her property looks out onto Stockbury Hill Wood, a nature reserve that is protected by the Kent Wildlife Trust.
The five-hectare site consists of yew, hornbeam, oak and beech trees, as well as being home to butterfly, lady and fly orchids.
Lorraine claims that several of the trees lining the outskirts of the woodland are dead and could snap off at any moment.
She said: “All the vehicles are getting scratched up and we’re all moaning about it.
“I’ve got a new car and I’ve got two scratches down the bottom of it.
“It [the road] used to be just fit for a horse and cart. We have to trim it back because nothing gets done.
“I’ve got three dead trees in front of my bungalow, which are in the Trust’s grounds, and they’re not doing anything about it.”
The woods are currently closed to the public, with a sign saying that this is due to “hazardous trees.”
It goes on to say: “Ash trees have been severely affected by a disease called ash dieback.
“Large branches and trunks of affected ash trees may fall onto the path suddenly, with no warning. We are closing this section of path for your safety.”
The grandmother says that when there is bad weather – particularly during storms – large branches have fallen onto the road.
This year, her neighbour’s fence was hit by a tree, which went across the road and smashed two of the panels.
After calling up the Kent Wildlife Trust and the council several times, Lorraine says nobody is taking any action.
She added: “They [the Trust] come up once a year, just to tidy up. It’s their responsibility.
“I’m having words with them one minute, then they are saying the council is responsible for the section of trees.
“Then they’re putting me onto some other people. I’m going backwards and forwards.”
She says an officer from the council did come out to have a look last Winter, but understands they would only take action if the trees fell onto or were restricting the roadway.
Lorraine admits that both she and her husband have cut back the foliage and some of the branches around the blind bend next to her home.
They have also had to clear fly-tipping along the road and have even put out a sign telling motorists to “slow down”.
“I’m not worried if anyone wants to take me to court for trimming them,” she said.
“People tell me, ‘all the time you do it, they’ll expect you to just carry on doing it’. Now I don’t want to – it’s the principle.
“I don’t want to get killed by trying to save everyone else.”
She added: “When I’m in the garden, you can hear people coming down so fast that I hold my ears ready for the ‘smack’.
“You’ve even got lorries coming through here, going through the back roads into the village and trying to miss all the traffic.”
Kent Wildlife Trust has been contacted for a comment.
