Pensioners arrested after demonstration to save trees
A RETIRED university professor and a teacher were arrested after they tried to stop council workers chopping down 100-year-old lime trees in their street following a lost court battle.
The two women, aged 70 and 71, were among residents woken early yesterday by contractors, with police protection, armed with chainsaws in their street in Sheffield.
Neighbours and members of Sheffield Tree Action Group stood around the last tree to go. Jenny Hockey, a former Sheffield University sociology professor, and Freda Brayshaw were two of three people arrested following the protest. They were held in police cells for eight hours.
Prof Hockey’s husband, Bob, 72, said: “We put up passive resistance with the trees – but I guess that did not do much for Ghandi did it?”
Following her release, Prof Hockey said: “The tactics the council used by having to wake up residents out of their beds to move their cars and without using road closed signs is disgusting.
“They were definitely underhand tactics. The trees are valuable and ancient.”
Bryan Lodge, Sheffield City Council’s cabinet member for the environment, said he stood by the decision to do the “vital” maintenance work.
He said: “We understand that this was a difficult day for the tree campaigners, but this work is absolutely essential to ensure that Sheffield has healthy street trees for future generations. We need to replace eight out of the 30 existing trees, but we will plant 17, which means the road is gaining an extra nine trees.”