Families have been sitting under trees and handing out Easter eggs to tree surgeons to stop them from cutting down trees in Grove Park in Bromley

Residents are furious that contractors from Network Rail have been committing “environmental vandalism” by cutting down trees along the rail line without consulting them first.

The trees are along the line from Bromley North to Grove Park and people whose houses back onto the line are desperate to try stop the trees from being cut down,

Cushla Brennan, mother of three, said: “They are cutting down these trees that are 200-300 years old. I told them that if I stand here with my children under the then you can’t cut them down.

“I stayed there with my children for 45 minutes and we gave them Easter eggs and cups of tea until they left.

“We are trying to get a tree preservation order in place. We have not been consulted and there is nobody saying we are taking a measured approach to it.”

Tree surgeons showed up yesterday, April 5, to start cutting down the trees, much to the surprise of the residents.

Francis Mcalaney said: “It seems quite surprising that when the mayor is banging on about pollution that they are cutting down these trees, it’s just environmental vandalism.

“The residents are livid. We are very proud of our little area but these strikes me as very underhanded.

“They are basically removing a small wood. They take away the noise of the trains and removing them takes away the privacy we get.

“There are so many issues if they take those trees away. There’s a road called Oak Tree Gardens, the name will have to be changed.”

Residents have said they are worried about privacy, noise pollution, and the potential of flooding if the trees are taken away.

Margaret Smith, 79, said: “We have lived there for nearly 50 years and nothing has been done to those trees since then.

“We have not been consulted with. You can hear the saws even now. I don’t know what we are supposed to do.”

A Network Rail spokesperson, said: “Last winter there were well over a thousand incidents where trees or branches on the line disrupted journeys and posed potential safety risks to passengers and rail staff.

“Trees and plants by the railway can also obscure signals and sight lines, while autumn leaves on the tracks affect a train’s ability to accelerate and brake, creating a safety hazard and delays.

“We appreciate that trees and plants on our property shield our neighbours from the railway, however we need to prioritise keeping the railway running as smoothly as possible and our staff and passengers safe.

“We only ever remove trees or plants from the railway where they pose a risk to safety or train performance.”