RESIDENTS have been reassured that trees being removed from a Darwen street will be replaced after the council was accused of "sheer vandalism".

Laurence Yates, of Hawkshaw Avenue, said he was appalled when he noticed that all the trees on each side of nearby Lynwood Avenue had been chopped down by Blackburn with Darwen Council.

But the consultancy doing the work, which is aimed at improving pedestrian safety, today pledged that all the tress would be replaced. Mr Yates said: "Every single tree on the pavements along the avenue has been chopped down. How can it be called an avenue without trees? I just walked down to the shop and wondered what the heck had happened.

"I have four sycamores in my garden that I would love to chop down for convenience reasons but the council would soon be on my back if I did that. This is sheer vandalism and should not be allowed."

Mr Yates said 50 to 60 trees had gone, including some flowering cherry trees. He added: "They had been there for years and were lovely in spring. We have lived in this area for about 18 years and they have been there all that time.

"What is ironic is that there's a sign at the bottom of the road which says something like 'improving your highway'. I wouldn't call destroying trees and putting speed humps in improving anything. Explaining the decision to remove the trees, Peter Van Eijsden, from Capita Property Consultancy, said: "This scheme forms part of Blackburn with Darwen Council's strategy to reduce the number of child accidents, and residents in the area were consulted and shown plans of the scheme.

"The trees that have been removed were either dead or in a bad condition and their roots were causing a hazard to pedestrians. As part of the scheme, these trees will all be replaced."