shock as wrong trees chopped down in wrong garden

[Ross Macneil]

Read this in the paper on saturday thought you might like it,

 

AN elderly couple were shocked to come home from a shopping trip to discover a workman cutting down trees in their garden by mistake.

 

Margaret and Alan Atkinson say their back garden has been ruined after four 15ft conifers were felled by a man who had gone to the wrong property.

 

Mr Atkinson dashed from the car to see tree trunks and branches strewn around his garden and smashed plant pots.

 

Grandmother-of-ten Mrs Atkinson, 74, said: “We came home and I could hear the whirring of a chainsaw – we knew something was going on.

 

“It was a total mess. We kept shouting ‘stop’, but he kept going.

 

“We ended up having to call the police – he was still chopping trees down until they arrived.”

 

Mr Atkinson, who suffered a heart attack 18 months ago, was so distressed by the incident, on August 24, that he later collapsed in shock.

 

He said: “I’ve got a bad ticker, and I thought I was having another heart attack. It was very stressful.”

 

The gardener, who had gone to the couple’s house in Zetland Road, Barnard Castle, works for the housing association Home Group, which admitted the blunder.

 

Mr Atkinson, who worked in the construction industry until his retirement through ill-health, said: “I was gobsmacked when I saw him there with tree trunks all around him. I kept shouting at him to stop and he was adamant he’d got the right address, but we knew he hadn’t.”

 

Mr and Mrs Atkinson had been growing the conifers in their garden for more than 20 years. They say the removal of the trees has reduced their privacy.

 

Mrs Atkinson said: “We’ve spoken to a neighbour who said the workman should have been at her house.

 

“We’re devastated – we had those trees for years. We’ll never replace them now because they take so long to grow.”

 

A spokesman for Home Group said: “The wrong trees were cut down due to a misunderstanding and we have apologised to Mr and Mrs Atkinson for this highly unusual occurrence.”

 

Home Group has offered to repair any damage and replace the trees with plants or fencing of the couple’s choice.

[Le Sanglier]

we've all done it!

[Ross Macneil]

we've all done it!

 

Have we. cos i havent

Edited September 4, 2011 by Ross Macneil

[David Goss]

we've all done it!

 

i havent:001_huh:

thats a big BIG mistake and you never start cutting till your 100% sure its the right tree.

[easy-lift guy]

Holy case of the wrong job at the wrong place Batman. That elderly couple must have been devastated. How do you restore what has been destroyed by such an act of incompetence?

easy-lift guy

[tommer9]

we've all done it!

 

WTF????????????????????

 

I hope we havent!!!!!!

 

I know i never have:001_huh:

[Adam Bourne]

oh dear should have gone to spec savers????????

[skyhuck]

Very unprofessional of the guy not to stop when asked.

[skyhuck]

WTF????????????????????

 

I hope we havent!!!!!!

 

I know i never have:001_huh:

 

I have

[Le Sanglier]

WTF????????????????????

 

I hope we havent!!!!!!

 

I know i never have:001_huh:

 

look its sunday night, do you honestly think I was serious? have a glass of vino and relax.