A dispute over nesting pigeon’s poo escalates into drastic arboreal surgery in a Sheffield suburb.
A neighbourly dispute over a tree between two drives turned into a “war” when one homeowner cut the intrusive evergreen in half.
Bharat Mistry, 56, said his next-door neighbour had complained of nesting pigeons dirtying his side of the divide in Waterthorpe, Sheffield.
The two tried to reach an “amicable” solution, he said, before the other resident called a tree surgeon.
Mr Mistry’s neighbour was unavailable for comment.
The other couple first asked for the tree to be removed last March, Mr Mistry said.
This led to “several discussions” about trimming it back or installing nets to prevent birds from nesting.
Mr Mistry made inquiries with tree surgeons and gardeners, but his neighbour of 28 years took it upon himself to call his own arborist.
“You can imagine when he first did it we were angry,” he said.
“Obviously after a couple of days we calmed down a bit.”
The tree has since become a tourist attraction after photos of it were shared online, with people making trips to see it.
Fellow neighbour Brian Parkes said the issue had been “going on a bit”, adding: “You’ve got to feel sorry for both of them.
“It looks awful. They’re going to be at one another’s throats now, but it’s done, you can’t undo it. We’ve got a war on our hands with them two.”
Ann Wiles, who also lives on the street, said the neighbours had previously organised children’s parties together.
“As far as I know they got on well together,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of pigeons, hundreds of them. We live in the country and you’ve got to accept these things.”
The tree might have to be cut down if it does not survive, Mr Mistry said, but he is hopeful it can be further trimmed or reshaped.
His wife said: “I am genuinely really sad that it’s come to this.”
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