A council has cut down a number of trees and said the action was necessary to stop people having sex under them. Last month, Plymouth City Council axed 110 trees in the city centre - and it has now removed even more.
The latest cull came on nearby Plymouth Hoe, on the waterfront, after workers were regularly ''having to clean up sex and drug paraphernalia''.
Locals are demanding the council to "leave our trees alone". One said: "I can't believe this! What the hell is wrong with you. Leave our trees alone!"
Another added: "How many more trees are they going to cut down, they're obsessed with cutting down trees."
One commented: "How about taking steps in tackling the antisocial behaviour rather than lopping the trees down and thinking that’ll solve it?"
Another joked: "Surely cutting down the trees makes them more visible!"
One said: ''Plymouth city council using any excuse to cut down more trees.''
One said: ''Any excuse is good to cut some trees in Plymouth''
Another added: ''This is environmental terrorism and the Council should be prosecuted.''
A council spokesperson said: “The area around the Belvedere shelter has suffered from growing anti-social behaviour, with council officers regularly having to clean up sex and drug paraphernalia.
"As part of our regular programme of maintenance, and following feedback from the community, including local groups, we have been keen to clean-up this space on the Hoe and make it more welcoming and safe for both residents and visitors.
“Over the past few years we have already carried out improvement works on two other shelters, which has received positive feedback.
"In the latest works, carried out on the final shelter on April 23, we removed large shrubs, including cabbage palms.
"We will be replacing them with planting that has improved biodiversity benefits and provides a better home to bees and bugs."
The council added that they had consulted with an ecologist, but apologised to the Hoe Neighbourhood Forum for not keeping them up to date on the work.
In their statement, they assured that "community engagement" would be a "priority moving forward."
