Residents living on Oxford's Osney Island have used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the report which led to the felling of 11 willow trees for safety reasons.

The city council's tree inspection report shows that six of the 11 trees were considered to be in "reasonable health", although some contained cavities or other decay.

Only one of these six trees is described as being "hazardous".

The other five trees that were felled last month are described in the report as being in a "hazardous" condition.

The willows were inspected and assessed as rotten and a danger to the public on October 5 - 21 days before residents were told of the council's intention to get rid of them.

Annabel Dunstan, one of the residents who led the fight to save the willows, said: "The official report shows that a number of the trees were in reasonable health.

"We believe that indicates they could have been pollarded to a height of 12ft and should not have been cut down.

"The residents feel the council has acted incompetently by not carrying out thorough research, and may have acted unlawfully by removing these trees which provide biodiversity."

Ms Dunstan added that in 1999, residents agreed a tree management plan with council officers which set out how regularly the trees should be pollarded.

This was not adhered to, according to Ms Dunstan, and last month's felling was the result.

"A new tree management plan is now being set up but it is too late for the willows," she added.

Alan Armitage, the council's portfolio holder for a healthier environment, said the trees were felled by council officers because they were diseased or eaten away.

He added: "People felt the whole thing was rushed through without proper consultation, but in the case of a public safety issue, consultation cannot be the priority.

"We will involve the residents in plans to replant trees and, from now on, a tree management group will meet regularly with council officers to decide when trees should be pollarded, at what age that should happen, and so on.

"We have had some interesting collaborations with residents in some parts of the city like Cutteslowe, and they have done some fabulous work to help us improve the local environment."

Complaints about the felling of the 11 "rotten" trees have forced Mike Newman, the city council's head of corporate complaints, to examine the decision-making process before, during and after the cull.

It will publish its findings in January.

In October, an inquest heard how a diseased horse chestnut in Gloucester Street, Oxford, crashed on to the parked car in which 22-year-old Angela Regoczy was sitting during a violent storm in 2002. The student, of Blandford Avenue, Oxford, was killed instantly.

The inquest was told the council had known since 1999 that the tree was diseased and was a potential public hazard. It was due to be removed more than a year before Miss Regoczy was killed.

Ms Dunstan added: "The young woman's death was tragic but that does not mean other trees across the city should be felled through fear of litigation.

"There was a way of preserving some of these willow trees safely and the council did not take that option."