Residents of Oxford's Osney Island lost their battle over the felling of riverside willows in East Street when city council workers turned up to finish the job.

A last-minute hitch in obtaining an injunction against the city council meant that workers were not prevented from going ahead with axing the remaining four of 11 condemned trees under the eyes of protesters.

Susanna Pressell, Labour city councillor for Jericho and Osney, spoke out against the actions of the Lib-Dem controlled council.

She said: "The most shocking aspect of all this is that the parks department did not consult the city council's own tree conservation officers who are very skilled and experienced.

"I shall investigate this breakdown of communications through every possible means, including going to the ombudsman if neccessary.

"These tree conservation officers are the people who regularly tell householders in conservation areas that they may not cut down trees - even when branches are falling off.

"It seems there is one law for the council and another for the rest of us."

Osney Island residents earlier employed their own qualified tree expert, at a cost of £700. He produced a report stating that seven of the trees were "highly retainable".

Residents protested against the felling of 11 out of 17 trees lining the grass between the street and the Thames. One of them, Zoe Teale, said: "The costs of the injunction would have been astronomical. We were prepared to underwrite £2,000-£3,000, but then they could have escalated - and, ultimately, the council would have been able to spend more than us."

John Wade, parks operational manager at Oxford City Council, said: "Only last month we had an inquest following the death of a young woman who was killed by a falling tree. That tragic accident has strengthened our resolve to take a robust approach to tree removal whenever any reasonable safety concerns are raised.

"We are in the process of removing the trees and they are being replaced by Oxfordshire County Council and it is scheduled for planting in the New Year."

A spokesman for the city council added: "The parks department have their own highly skilled and experienced arboriculturalist who is entirely capable of deciding if a tree is diseased or dying and needs urgent attention."

"The law used to require other council departments to consult our tree conservation officers before carrying out work, but that requirement was removed in 1999."