PROTESTERS were furious this morning after 33 mature trees were cut down in a Wirral cemetery.

Locals in West Kirby were arguing against the decision to chop down the 33 Lombardy Poplar trees at Grange Cemetery.

Wirral Council said the trees had to be cut down for safety reasons, but those gathered at the cemetery were not satisfied with that explanation.

Locals have set up the Wirral Ecology Network to protect trees in the borough.

A spokesperson for the group, said: "This is absolutely shocking. We need trees to save the atmosphere.

"They can also help with flooding, which is very important at the moment."

Wirral Council's tree policy is to double the amount of tree cover in the borough over the next decade.

But the group spokesperson thought this was missing the point.

They added: "There is no need to fell these trees to the ground. Old trees burn six tonnes of carbon dioxide each, new trees can't make up that.

"Little saplings also can't replace the habitats of bats and birds."

A small group of protesters gathered outside the cemetery as the council’s contractors arrived at around 9am this morning.

They thought the trees should have remained as they were 'beautiful' and helped to combat the climate emergency by taking in carbon dioxide and producing oxygen.

Charles Barnes, who lives in West Kirby, said: "We've just recently had really strong gales, hardly any branches came off.

"The council has felled all the trees, when in fact probably just a little bit of gentle maintenance on one or two branches was all that was needed."

He disputed the council's view that the trees were too dangerous to remain and added: "The centre of a tree dies as a tree grows, but no tree has a centre which is alive.

"The living part of a tree is towards the outside where the sap is."

Mr Barnes thought cutting the trees down was "absolutely unnecessary" and most people in the area were against it.

Others questioned the tree management contract the council had signed with Mancoed VM Ltd.

Speaking at Grange Park this morning, Labour councillor Tony Norbury, said: "It's been a really sad day for our environment I feel.

"The new tree strategy will hopefully be able to mitigate felling trees to the ground and find other ways that we can protect dangerous trees so that they’re not a danger to the public.

"I'm very anxious that any new tree procurement that goes out to any new contractor that we do not have in that procurement contract that they are allowed to keep the wood."

He was unhappy with the idea that money is being made from cutting down trees when perhaps they could be saved.

Cllr Norbury added: "They're allowed to harvest the wood from Wirral and sell it at a profit to burn logs or to use in biomass.

"They're releasing carbon back into the atmosphere, this is Wirral’s wood being sold at a profit by an outside agency to burn and put that carbon back into the environment.

"That cannot happen in a climate emergency, it makes us look hypocritical."

On this contract, a spokesperson for Wirral Council said: "The council's contract for tree management is clear – it is the council's decision alone what happens to the wood from felled trees and this is considered on a case-by-case basis.

"Taking into account factors such as the suitability of the local eco-system, the quality of the wood, the species of tree and associated costs, such as transport.

"In the case of these trees, the majority of the wood will be taken to Royden Park and used there for a range of operational purposes.

"Any accusation that the felling of trees is ever for purely commercial or financial reasons is entirely false."

Also speaking at Grange Park, Conservative councillor Jennifer Johnson – who represents West Kirby and Thurstaston, said: "I'm caught between the two sides.

"The council's tree specialist has said they are unstable trees, with multiple decayed parts.

"But people here are worried about bats and other species in the trees."

Cllr Johnson said Wirral Council should make an effort to plant mature, native trees to make up for the loss of these large trees.

She added that the council needs to look at the contract it has with Mancoed VM Ltd going forward.

A spokesperson for Wirral Council, said: "Grange Cemetery and Park was closed on February 13 due to safety concerns surrounding the avenue of 33 Lombardy Poplar trees that separate the park and cemetery and the risk they posed during the recent high winds and storms.

"These trees have been inspected on several occasions and found by a number of arboriculture experts to be decayed or in such an overall health condition that they require urgent felling.

"As a result of another recent assessment from a tree expert, further damage and deterioration of these trees has been identified and they continue to pose a significant risk to the public and require urgent removal before the park can reopen.

"Friends of Grange Park have advised that they believe there are potential bat roosts in two of these trees.

"The council has appointed a specialist bat ecologist to conduct a thorough survey of these trees to advise on this.

“These two trees will not be removed until the bat survey work has been completed and any issues arising have been appropriately addressed.

"The Park cannot re-open until an assessment has been undertaken by our Arboricultural specialist and until he is satisfied that the trees no longer pose a risk to the health and safety of visitors and users of this park.

"Wirral Council takes its commitment to management and maintenance of trees very seriously and is in the process of a comprehensive inspection of parks and countryside trees.

"It is essential that all necessary works identified from this inspections programme are undertaken."

The spokesperson also said that trees are only felled as a last resort and that the council has an ambitious plan to plant thousands of trees to combat the "relatively small number" they have cut down for safety reasons.

The spokesperson concluded: "In this instance, replacement trees will be planted and the council will be working with the community as well as the Friends of Grange Park and Wirral Ecology Network to co-agree the design and the species of tree selected for the replanting.

"Wirral Council would like to ensure that there is agreement as to which species of trees should be planted to ensure that the most suitable species for the area are selected."