A COUPLE from Rishton say they have been left in the dark by a 30ft tree that overhangs their garden.

Sandra Prince, 61 and her fiance Nick Riley, 59, from Walmsley Avenue say they asked Hyndburn Homes which tends the tree, to cut it back, but the social landlord refused.

The couple who have lived in the house for the past 30 years, have resorted to cutting it back themselves but say they feared they would overstep the legal boundary.

And because the tree reaches a height of around 30ft, they have been unable to cut back the top branches and will now have to pay for a tree surgeon to remove the rest.

The tree which stands in the grounds of Eachill Gardens, has previously been cut back by Hyndburn Council who used to tend to it.

Miss Prince said: “Over the years the tree has grown over and we have had no problems getting it cut back by Hyndburn Council.

“A few weeks ago I noticed that it was starting to come across again and contacted the council who told me to speak to Hyndburn Homes.

“I tried calling nine times and left messages and heard nothing back from them.

“I eventually received a call saying that unless the branches were resting on my extension or were dead or diseased, then they wouldn’t do anything.

“They said we could cut it back ourselves but then said they would take legal action if we went over the boundary.

“We spent six hours at the weekend cutting it back but we can’t get to the top branches as they are just too high up.

“I have arthritis and I am having to pick up all the falling leaves and it also takes away a lot of the light during the summer.”

A spokesperson for Hyndburn Homes said: “We understand Miss Prince is unhappy about leaves from the tree falling into her garden and we do sympathise.

“However, we have explained that we would only be able to take action if the tree was posing a health and safety risk, was dead or diseased. We have inspected the tree and it is not.

“We’ve explained that Miss Prince can cut back the tree as far as the boundary of her property. If she has misinterpreted our explanation, we are sorry. If she would like to talk to us further, we would urge her to get in touch.”