Anger after dozens of trees felled along railway line
BBCResidents have described the felling of dozens of trees along a railway line in Derbyshire as "horrifying" and "tragic".
Network Rail contractors were ordered to fell the trees for "essential vegetation management" along the Midland Mainline near the village of Higham last week.
But residents living nearby told the BBC workers had gone "far and beyond" what they needed to and felled "healthy oak and birch trees".
Ward councillor Heather Liggett said: "It's absolutely devastating for the area."
Network Rail said the work was needed to ensure the railway could "continue to offer a safe and reliable service" but apologised for the "concern" caused to the community.
But Sarah McRow, 56, who co-owns Brackenfield Alpacas nearby, told the BBC Network Rail's contractors had gone "far and beyond" what they needed to do.
"I just burst into tears. I saw the birds, the thrushes, and it was just heartbreaking," she said.
"Network Rail sent us a letter saying they were going to carry out the works over the winter period - that's fine, the work needs to happen when it causes problems on the railway line.
"But do not do it in bird nesting season."
Liggett said she first heard about the work when residents were "woken up to chainsaw noises at midnight".
"It was just going to be vegetation cutback and the removal of the odd dying tree with ash dieback and the odd dangerous tree - not every single tree for miles with a 30-metre-wide band... it's horrifying," she said.
Fiona Cropper, 62, lives nearby and said they "knew nothing about it" until after it happened.
Mrs Cropper said: "Either side of the tracks, as far as you could see, was a beautiful row of green, and suddenly we came back from a weekend away to find everything was gone... it's just tragic.
"I was absolutely shocked - we understand the line has to be made safe, but... this is totally excessive; everything has been taken away."
Mrs Cropper added they were aware of trees with ash dieback disease which needed to be felled, but there were also "countless oak trees and mature birch" that were chopped down.
Tara Scott, infrastructure director for Network Rail in the East Midlands, said: "We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously.
"There are clear rules around undertaking essential vegetation management during bird nesting season.
"We have a qualified ecologist who makes sure that we observe those rules, and all our teams on site are carefully briefed.
"This work is needed to make sure that the railway can continue to offer a safe and reliable service to our communities.
"We are sorry for the concern it is causing to the local community."
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