RESIDENTS living on Osney Island, Oxford, 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."

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.

Alan Armitage, the council's portfolio holder for a healthier environment, said: "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."

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

He will publish his findings in January.

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

The student, of Blandford Avenue, Oxford, was killed instantly.

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

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