Cars wrecked by bungling tree surgeons

Residents were shocked to watch tree surgeons chopping down branches in a busy street – on to the roofs of parked cars. One log plunged through the sun roof of a Toyota Rav4 as the work was carried out in Bath Road in Cheltenham, Gloucs, yesterday afternoon. Sarah Croney’s Rover 25 was damaged by branches. The tree surgeons continued their work as the 27-year-old pleaded with them to stop.

Speaking at the scene, she said: “I think they should stop immediately. All they needed to do was put something through my door to let me know. This is a public place to park.” The personal assistant said she arrived home on Wednesday night to find her car barricaded in by fences and logs, which she was unable to move.



She was told about the damage being done to her car by a friend who drove past the scene. Branches were littered around the dented chassis of Sarah’s car, but the Toyota faired even worse. One log had fallen through the sports utility vehicle’s sun roof. When the work was finished it was covered with wood and leaves. A cordon had been placed around the work area to ensure pedestrians were not hurt.

It is understood the work was due to be carried out by Tuffley-based firm GHS Civil Engineers. Police have arrested a 42-year-old man from Gloucester on suspicion of criminal damage. Rob Forrester of Forrester Access, who owns the 22 metre lorry mounted cherry-picker that was hired to carry out the work, was amazed by what he saw. He said: “They hired the machine from me and I’m horrified about it. As a tree surgeon for 12 years I saw a lot of things, but I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”