Yew cut and thrown into horses field

trefnantblackknight

trefnantblackknight

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Afternoon.

Well I was horrified when walking my paddocks this afternoon to find YEW had been cut and thrown over the stone wall into my paddock horses have been grazing this paddock.

I called the college who's trees they were cut from who said they didn't cut them down it was scottish power and would not collect the yew for me - there's so much I can't lift it, it's basically and entire tree - and that it's up to Scottish Power who I can't get through to without a ref number, the college had bt out last year who cut yew and dumped it over the wall like this. Very cross have cut boys from the paddock lucky they have adlib hay but am going back up after lunch just to be sure they're okay. Very cross and getting nowhere!

Has anyone else had this happen before maybe not with yew but another type of tree??

Me and OH are going to shift it tomorrow and put it back where it came from! Cheeky or what!
 
I'd pursue the college - their tree, their fly tipping.
If they had paid a dodgy bloke with a chainsaw to remove a tree and it had been fly tipped it would come back on them for not ensuring proper disposal of THEIR waste.
 
My thoughts exactly they pulled the insurance card, then the I can't move it until Monday and you being me would need to pass it over - again they're huge I'm not putting my back out for them.

So iv left a message saying if they can't get it today - my landlord has given them permission to come on the land to collect it( they're original get out of jail card) I'll be popping it in front of the tree it came from and they'll have to move it first thing Monday.

Very annoyed as if the worst had happened I now realise how awkward they would be if they had my lovely horses death on their hands!
 
Maybe an e-mail to the ceo of the company responsible for the tree felling would be in order, with an invoice for the time spent removing the rubbish?
 
Agree with pursuing the college.

When BT did the same, was it the same bit of wall? If so, I'd be tempted to put up a notice "Throw poisonous yew over this wall and you pay the vet bill" or something along those lines.

If you want to complain to scottish power it'll probably be the network company rather than the supplier that did any work - e.g. http://www.spenergynetworks.co.uk/. You should be able to contact them without any reference number.
 
Go round to the college and start shouting your head off ... Go nuts, go in their like a screaming nutjob, throw yourself on the floor, break things in the process ... scream, wail, sob ... sometimes in life you just have to make a point and doing that on email and phone doesnt cut it. You'd be surprised how quickly things can be 'made right' when enough fuss is kicked up!

Go have some fun :)

Oh oh .. stick some of the yew in your hair and neck of your top or something .. put a bit in your shoe and scream that they chucked it ON YOU when you were poo picking .. honestly you could have so much fun with this :)
 
I think the power company/BT will have a wayleave, if that's the right term, ie the right to maintain to safeguard their cables etc, so the college probably has no say in it from that viewpoint. I think the utility company also has the responsibility to remove the cuttings and not leaving it for someone else, although it is not uncommon for them to leave them.

I think it is worth making the company and the college aware at a high level, of their responsibilities in terms of poisonous plants like yew and safeguarding livestock.
If it was a tree surgeon who was employed, you would think they should be aware of that kind of issue as part of their professional qualifications.
 
The utility companies do have a right to access property to trim back trees which may encroach on power lines. We've had them here unexpectedly, but our trees were non poisonous. They left the cuttings on our land.

Any tree surgeon or operative should easily recognise yew, it's very distinctive and is widely known to be poisonous. Leaving it out within reach of grazing animals is grossly negligent.

How far away from your boundary was the tree before it was cut down?
 
Personally I would lob them back over

Over Hanging Branches
Branches that grow so as to overhang your neighbours' land are trespassing on his air space. The neighbour can chop the branches back to the boundary but he has to return the lopped branches to the owner of the tree together with any fruit that might have been on them. If he lops beyond his boundary then it is a trespass. It is always best to ask your neighbour first although you do not need his permission to lop overhanging branches so long as they are returned.

You could sue the owner of the tree or shrubs for trespass; nuisance and/or negligence (in this case if they become dangerous).
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Trees
A tree or shrub belongs to the owner of the land on which it grows even if its branches or roots go over or under adjoining land. This includes the branches and the fruit of any tree or shrub. This even applies to windfall apples etc. The Theft Act 1968 makes it a criminal offence to take wild flowers, fruit and foliage from any plant if it is sold for commercial gain. However, falling leaves and fruit still belong to the owner of the tree or shrub, the law does not require the owner to come and sweep up the leaves or pick up the fruit. Having said that if falling leaves block a gutter, which results in water damage, the owner of the tree could be sued for damage.

You are not allowed to go onto your neighbours land or to lean over it to cut your hedge. You need the permission of your neighbour. The same is true about going onto your neighbours land to pick up windfalls or trim back branches.
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From the UK Power Networks website https://www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/internet/en/our-services/list-of-services/tree-trimming/

'We can only cut trees back enough to ensure they no longer come into contact with the lines (usually 1.5m away) – unless our team considers public safety to be an issue. We will also need to speak to the landowner who owns the trees, as they will be responsible for removing the cut branches after our work has been completed.'
 
Tiddlypom said:
The utility companies do have a right to access property to trim back trees which may encroach on power lines. We've had them here unexpectedly, but our trees were non poisonous. They left the cuttings on our land.

Any tree surgeon or operative should easily recognise yew, it's very distinctive and is widely known to be poisonous. Leaving it out within reach of grazing animals is grossly negligent.

How far away from your boundary was the tree before it was cut down?
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Totally this, how scary for you...

Even a mouthful of yew can be fatal :(

Fiona
 
I'm with Ant on this one and would be straight back to the collage going apeshit and waving a branch of yew around threatening to sue the arse off the principal, but then i'm a direct sort of person and never waste time trying to be diplomatic in situations like this
 
We recently had the local electricity company round as they needed to cut back some trees that were on our land as they were getting too close to the lines. The sent sub-contractors round to carry out the work who were very good and tidied everything up after them removing all the cuttings.

I tend to agree that it is not the college but the power company that you need to take this up with.
 
Shady said:
I'm with Ant on this one and would be straight back to the collage going apeshit and waving a branch of yew around threatening to sue the arse off the principal, but then i'm a direct sort of person and never waste time trying to be diplomatic in situations like this
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Same here. OH calls me his Weapon of Last Resort. The implications of what could have happened - and who would have been responsible - need to be spelt out in no uncertain terms. Depending on the response of the Principal, I might also be tempted to go for the Sad Face of the Year award with an article in the Daily Wail :).
 
I'd actually put complaints in writing to both the college and the power company. Written complaints (esp to CEOs) get a lot more credibility because they can't be categorised as anything else. Power companies have to monitor their statistics for their regulator so they tend to be pretty responsive.
 
This is what happened when a sycamore tree was felled in neighbour field ..half of it fell into a horses paddock, broke the fencing in two places, the owner of the land who felled the tree refused to sort it..so the day after his short sharp" sort it yourself" my mate went to the local newspaper, and had a full page with pictures in the weekend paper.. stating how sycamore can kill horses, and field is not useable till £500 is spent fixing the fence,
Tree was removed two days later, fence fixed ..job done..
Get local press involved..they love a story like this
 
ROMANY 1959 said:
This is what happened when a sycamore tree was felled in neighbour field ..half of it fell into a horses paddock, broke the fencing in two places, the owner of the land who felled the tree refused to sort it..so the day after his short sharp" sort it yourself" my mate went to the local newspaper, and had a full page with pictures in the weekend paper.. stating how sycamore can kill horses, and field is not useable till £500 is spent fixing the fence,
Tree was removed two days later, fence fixed ..job done..
Get local press involved..they love a story like this
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I would love to do that!
 
Going against the grain here. If the pieces of yew tree are large diameter it may be worth contacting a local timber yard - yew can be worth good money, and they'll take it away for you.
 
laura_nash said:
Agree with pursuing the colleg

When BT did the same, was it the same bit of wall? If so, I'd be tempted to put up a notice "Throw poisonous yew over this wall and you pay the vet bill" or something along those lines.

If you want to complain to scottish power it'll probably be the network company rather than the supplier that did any work - e.g. http://www.spenergynetworks.co.uk/. You should be able to contact them without any reference number.
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That's great thank you
 
laura_nash said:
Agree with pursuing the college.

When BT did the same, was it the same bit of wall? If so, I'd be tempted to put up a notice "Throw poisonous yew over this wall and you pay the vet bill" or something along those lines.

If you want to complain to scottish power it'll probably be the network company rather than the supplier that did any work - e.g. http://www.spenergynetworks.co.uk/. You should be able to contact them without any reference number.
Click to expand...

Antw23uk said:
Go round to the college and start shouting your head off ... Go nuts, go in their like a screaming nutjob, throw yourself on the floor, break things in the process ... scream, wail, sob ... sometimes in life you just have to make a point and doing that on email and phone doesnt cut it. You'd be surprised how quickly things can be 'made right' when enough fuss is kicked up!

Go have some fun :)

Oh oh .. stick some of the yew in your hair and neck of your top or something .. put a bit in your shoe and scream that they chucked it ON YOU when you were poo picking .. honestly you could have so much fun with this :)
Click to expand...

Fantastic!!! Imagine that most of the students are from Japan/Korea so they might not notice! :)
 
laura_nash said:
Agree with pursuing the college.
Exactly

When BT did the same, was it the same bit of wall? If so, I'd be tempted to put up a notice "Throw poisonous yew over this wall and you pay the vet bill" or something along those lines.

If

little_critter said:
So it wasn't just left where it fell, they actively dumped it on your land. Even worse.
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Exactly!
Click to expand...
 
eggs said:
We recently had the local electricity company round as they needed to cut back some trees that were on our land as they were getting too close to the lines. The sent sub-contractors round to carry out the work who were very good and tidied everything up after them removing all the cuttings.

I tend to agree that it is not the college but the power company that you need to take this up with.
Click to expand...

This is my experience of SSE, cleared absolutely everything.
 
Advise the college that their property has been dumped on your land, and as a result your horses cannot use the field and will need to be put on livery. Ask if they would rather have the livery bill or your bill for removal of the tree, alternatively they can remove the tree themselves and you will grant access to allow them to do so, however every day they leave it will incur them a cost of £30 per day for the liver bill.
 
i was told of a cow that died from yew poisoning and it was so rapid that she still had bits in her mouth.i dont want to scare you but it is nasty stuff.
 
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