Farmer in hot water for obeying felling order

A landowner who obeyed an order from a local authority to cut down a number of dangerous trees was shocked to be told by another State agency he could be prosecuted for carrying out the work.

The saga started in early January when a large tree fell during a storm close to Nicholas Stout’s home at Dunmanway, Co Cork. It blocked the main Dunmanway-Drimoleague road for several hours before being cleared.

Cork County Council engineers carried out a safety survey in the area and sent Mr Stout an order to fell 20 tress on his property “in the interest of road safety under the Road Act 1993”.