RESIDENTS in Neston are upset after the Ministry of Defence chopped down three cherry trees in full bloom as part of work to expand the car park at their base in Corsham.

Michael Prior, of Greenhill, saw men from the MoD chopping down the three blossoming trees on Westwells Road on Saturday. He feels they should have left the trees in place, or at least told residents about the plans.

He said: "I thought what an insensitive thing for them to do. The MoD planted them a number of years ago and now they have chopped them all down.

"I have not seen any planning notification signs or heard what they could be doing with the land, but they were a great pleasure to see and to have them potentially replaced by a security fence is really not nice."

Mr Prior said he hopes the MoD could plant new trees somewhere else.

A spokesman for the MoD said: “Wiltshire Council has granted planning permission for the resurfacing and landscaping of an existing car park at Rudloe Manor. It will also have a new control barrier and lighting. Some trees will need to be felled but the landscaping includes planting of new shrubs and trees.”