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A man has shared his frustration over a row of 50ft trees that he says are blocking the light in his home and interfering with his TV and phone signal. Carl Martindale, 49, of Forester Way in Hull, says the trees are affecting the quality of life of himself, his wife, and their neighbours. The trees reportedly sit behind their communal garden fence, on a piece of land formerly occupied by a Birds Eye factory.

Speaking to HullLive, Carl claims that the trees are blocking natural light in their homes, forcing him to keep the lights on all day as the price of energy spirals. He also claims that the trees are blocking his phone signal and interfering with the service on his Sky box.

After Carl contacted them, Hull City Council offered to cut down overhanging branches for them, however, a spokesman said that if the trees were to be cut down in height, they would regrow faster and spread even more – causing the neighbours even more problems.

Speaking to Hull Live, Carl said: “We moved into the bungalow in April this year and there was a tree on our property outside the bedroom window. We asked the housing association to remove it to let the light in, and they sorted it without a problem.

“Next to our communal garden there is a row of 50ft trees that were put in to hide the old Birds Eye factory from view. But, the factory hasn’t been there for donkey’s years now and it is just used to store caravans – so why do they have to be there?

“It’s blocking all of the light in our kitchen, so we have to keep the lights on all day, and it’s blocking the signal on our phones and our Sky box. These are services that we pay for, but we’re not getting our money’s worth.

“If one of those trees blew down, there would be a hell of a lot of damage – it would go straight onto our bungalow. I just don’t understand why they need to be 50ft high, they’re not hiding anything anymore.”

Carl explained that Hull City Council had already sent an operative round to trim some overhanging branches, rather than reducing their height. “I like trees, and I’m not saying I want them cut down entirely – I just want the council to trim them down to a reasonable height. I think it’s fair enough to want light in your property,” he said.

A spokesperson for Hull City Council said: “Council staff attended to trim back the trees where they overhang into properties and to remove some of the lower branches. However, residents said they didn’t want this work carrying out, so we left without doing it.

“It isn’t possible to reduce the height of the trees, as the trees would regrow very fast from the point they were cut, and spread further – meaning it would actually make it worse for the residents. We will happily go back to trim and remove the lower branches if that’s what residents want.”

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