Historic 120-year-old tree saved from being chopped down by a London council trends now
A 120-year-old tree has been saved from being chopped down by a London council at the eleventh hour after a homeowner lodged an injunction to stop the felling without giving notice.
Haringey Council in north London seized the tree in a dawn raid 'under the cover of darkness' on Sunday in a bid to stop furious activists scaling it and stopping the felling.
About a dozen-strong balaclava-clad security team currently patrol the site and a huge scaffolding structure that has been erected around it to create a look-out for the guards.
The move was branded heavy-handed after the security guards were deployed to stop a nearly year-long occupation of the tree by demonstrators, who put up hammocks and signs in the branches.
The council took possession of the tree earlier this week and was going to court to get permission to carry out the felling, over claims the deep roots were causing subsidence to two nearby homes.
Haringey Council in north London seized the 120-year-old tree in a dawn raid 'under the cover of darkness' on Sunday
A guard pictured on the scaffolding which has been erected for security personnel to use as a look-out
Campaigners say they have faced 'abhorrent' action from Haringey council after balaclava-clad security guards secured the tree in the middle of the night
But resident, Andrew Brenner, lodged his injunction in the early hours of Wednesday morning to stop the authority chopping down the tree without giving notice to other parties.
The hearing at Clerkenwell County Court yesterday, which was to decide the ancient plane tree's fate, was adjourned after Mr Brenner's dramatic intervention.
The injunction will now stand until a follow up hearing in a few weeks' time.
The row over the tree began last year, when insurance company Allianz blamed it for being the primary cause of subsidence to a property and demanded the council chop it down and admit liability for £400,000.
Ohna Falby, whose home Allianz say is sinking due to the tree, has become increasingly frustrated that the insurers are not underpinning her property that she describes as 'the source of all this mayhem'.
The 58-year-old resident told MailOnline: 'These houses are worth millions. We have to get insurance companies if we want a mortgage to cover the building's insurance but they charge us and know the risk and when they have an event that's insurable, they don't want to do the underpinning so they try find alternatives.
'At the moment, the insurance company is receiving the inflated premium but not providing the service you bought. They are selling you a product they are not willing to honour and there's no accountability.'
On hearing the councils plan, Haringey Tree Protestors (HTP) mobilised over 120 activists to guard the plane tree from the council worker's chainsaws.
Mr Brenner lives directly behind the tree that insurance firm Aviva/Allianz claims is causing subsidence to his house dating back to the 1990s.
However, it was his intervention at yesterday's hearing that resulted in the victory for the protesters.
The council took possession of the tree in the early hours of Sunday morning (March 12) amid disputed claims protesters had been preparing to occupy the tree with climbing ropes ahead of the court hearing this week.
Activists from the HTP deny these allegations.
Campaigner, Giovanna Lozzi, said: 'They have tried to justify it by saying that we have been putting new stuff in the tree but it is not true.
'The tree has not been physically occupied since the autumn.'
