A copse of 17 trees used by nine bird species including sparrowhawks and tawny owls has been saved by councillors.

Hyndburn planning committee voted to refuse an application for a free-standing LED screen at a busy junction on the Accrington/Church border.

Burnley-based Premier Vue has asked for permission to put the three metres by six metres digital advertising hoarding on land at the corner in Hyndburn Road near Jubilee Road.

But on Wednesday the councillors turned it down as it would mean the felling of 17 protected trees after a plea from nearby resident and keen bird watcher Peter Livsey.

He told them: "We are worried about highway safety as it is a busy junction.

"Residents do not want to see these trees cut down. They are a small but visible and important ecological area.

The LED screen was dubbed a 'blot on the landscape'The LED screen was dubbed a 'blot on the landscape'

"I have seen nine species of birds using them for nesting or foraging.

"This includes a pair of sparrowhawks who use them to launch attacks on other birds in our gardens but that is nature.

"I have also seen tawny owls. We are dead against this."

Graeme Hughes from Premier Vue told councillors the firm was prepared to plant 51 replacement trees on a nearby site.

He said the company would ensure the land, which has been blighted by fly tipping, was kept tidy in future.

Mr Hughes said: "The site is a dumping ground. It is strewn with litter and plastics. It is a mess."

The trees have been used by owlsThe trees have been used by owls Planning office Adam Birkett told councillors six nearby residents had objected.

He said: "The application site relates to an area at the corner of a highway junction.

"It separates the residential area to the northeast of the site from the busy four-armed junction where Hyndburn Road and Dunkenhalgh Way meet Henry Street and Manor Place.

"The whole of the site is located within an area covered by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO).

"In total, there are 27 trees surveyed within the TPO-protected woodland and 23 within the area of the proposed development.

"The proposed development would result in the loss of 17 TPO-protected trees, which equates to the loss of 63 per cent of all TPO-protected trees within the woodland TPO.

"The amount of trees lost would reduce the biodiversity function of the TPO woodland to near zero."

Immanuel ward Conservative Cllr Judith Addison said the proposed screen would be 'a blot on the landscape'.

Borough environment boss Cllr Stewart Eaves opposed the plan saying that planting replacement trees could not guarantee transferring the habitat for the birds.