HORRIFIED residents have launched a Save Our Trees protest after discovering four town centre trees are threatened with the axe.
East Riding Council wants to cut down the trees because of concerns about root damage to the pavement and a wall in New Walkergate, Beverley.
But residents say the trees are in the town's conservation area and should be saved.
"Don't destroy me" posters have been attached to the trees by dismayed residents.
Jo Gateshill, 57, who lives nearby, said: "There was no proper consultation. One resident who was notified contacted everyone else.
"We could have just come along one day and found they had gone.
"They are beautiful trees and obviously very old. It would be a massive loss if they were chopped down.
"Apart from the Jubilee Garden there's little greenery around here."
Mrs Gateshill said residents have requested a Tree Preservation Order to protect the trees.
She said: "There seems to be a bit of disrupted pavement. I don't see why they don't just remove the pavers and put in some grass."
Another resident, Sally Marshall, said: "We have not got many trees in this part of the town, they are a lovely feature.
"We are in a conservation area – I thought the council was supposed to conserve what is beautiful, it just seems to want to rip up everything.
"The council just wanted to do it quietly and get it through before anyone noticed.
"To say it is affecting the footpath is absolute nonsense."
A spokesman for East Riding Council said root damage was making the pavement and wall potentially hazardous.
He said: "Highways engineers have identified a number of issues relating to four trees in New Walkergate, whereby the roots are causing structural defects to the footway and a nearby property wall, causing potentially hazardous conditions for pedestrians and residents.
"It is felt that the best course of action is to remove the trees and reinstate the footway.
"However, due to the sensitive location of the trees, the council's highways team has submitted a notice for the work to the authority's planning department."
The spokesman insisted a decision would be made only after consultation.
He said: "The council will place a public notice on site and consult with local ward members, the town council and residents living near the trees.
"Once these groups have been consulted a decision will be made whether to fell the trees or establish whether any other course of action is available to rectify the situation."
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