Son could have been killed by tree, says Thornton mum

Emma Young, 30, of Usk Avenue near Stanah, says her seven year old son and his friends, aged eight and 11, were only able to get out of the way because they heard a noise and saw it toppling.

The incident follows calls by residents for the green space, which has a public footpath and is often used by people on the housing estate, to be more regularly maintained and for the overgrown hedges to be cut back.

Emma, a mum-of-two who works as a postwoman, said: “It was frightening because if that thing had struck them on the head they wouldn’t have stood a chance.

“I wrote to Wyre Council and Lancashire Council to raise concerns about this last August because I could see that the trees were unstable.”

Other residents are unhappy too, including Chris Hallam of Harlech Grove, who said: “These huge hedges are now too top heavy for the base and could easily crash onto my house. I even withheld my council tax in protest, it’s not acceptable.”

The green space was originally owned by developer David McNeil Homes but in 2008 the company, which has since folded, made negotiations for the land to be adopted by The Greenbelt Company, which takes over and maintains undevelopable land on behalf of developers. The land has since been sold to another party, understood to be a Fylde coast resident and businessman.

A Wyre spokesman said: “The land does not belong to the council but we are looking into these concerns.”