Plea to spare willow tree or ‘people will see naked wife’

A WEALTHY businessman has pleaded with local planners to save a willow tree outside his home in Henley-on-thames because it obstructs the view into his bedroom and his wife looks “less pretty” with her clothes off.

Robert Davies, who owns a £4 million home on the banks of the Thames, is embroiled in a row with his neighbours over plans to cut down the tree in order to build a floating pontoon in the river.

The pontoon would allow paddleboarders to use that stretch of the river.

He told the local council’s planning committee that passers-by would be able to see into their bedroom, which would infringe on his wife’s privacy.

This was a problem, he explained, because “my wife looks pretty with her clothes on, less so without”.

Mr Davies, 59, told Mailonline that the comment was intended as a joke but that Priscila Filleti, his Brazilian-born wife, was less than amused. “My wife is angry and p----d off at the remark,” he told the news site. “It was said in anger and an attempt at a bit of humour, but it was a very poor use of humour and disrespectful to women.”

Ms Filleti, a life coach, did not respond to a request for comment.

Part of the Thames Path long-distance public footpath runs across Marsh Lock and Weir, providing a view into the couple’s property. If the 60-year-old willow tree were to be removed, he claimed, it would allow walkers to see unimpeded into the bedroom.

“The tree hides it, even in winter as it has so many cross branches,” he told the council. Mr Davies fears that the work will lead to those without official access to the river using the landing.

“I am really not being a Nimby. This is about privacy but also about unnecessarily cutting down a perfectly good tree,” he said. The planning decision will be made on July 7.