A homeowner who sliced her neighbour's tree exactly in half two years ago has said she still keeps the oddly shaped Fir tree perfectly trimmed - and has no regrets over her actions.
Irene Lee and her husband Graham, both in their 70s, had been in a year-long fight with their neighbour Bharat Mistry over the tree when they decided to take matters into their own hands in 2021.
The tree, located at the edge of Bharat's property in Waterthorpe, Sheffield, had branches and leaves which crossed the property line onto Irene and Graham's land, and after getting fed up with noisy birds and having the tree block their driveway, the couple called in tree surgeons to cut the branches in half - shaving off everything that was on their property.
And two years later, the tree is still standing - but it's still half its original width, as Irene and Graham have made sure to keep trimming the branches back whenever they threaten to spill over onto their property.
What's more, Irene said she has "no regrets" about her actions, as she told The Sun: "We have no regrets about cutting it in half and can't believe this is still news."
Irene was also asked if she's still at loggerheads with the tree's owners, to which she insisted she and her husband "get on with everyone in the street" as they've lived in the area for "a long time".
According to Citizens Advice, what Irene and Graham did is legally okay, as a neighbour can cut any branches that are overhanging into their garden as long as they only remove the bits on their side of the boundary.
However, it's recommended to try and resolve any issue informally and reach a compromise before you start hacking down any branches, so that you and your neighbours can keep a friendly relationship.
And while Irene might think that there's no longer any animosity between herself and the rest of the neighbourhood over the tree, local resident Pauline Kagtowski insisted there's definitely "still friction".
Pauline said that while neighbouring households know they're "not meant to take sides", many of them "secretly" support either the Grahams or the Mistry family.
She said: "We're not meant to take sides, but secretly we do, because both families have lived here for years and we don't want to offend either. Everyone around here knows about the conifer cut in half and it’s put out street on the map."
Other neighbours also claimed the incident surrounding the tree has caused a divide in the street, as some said the dispute is "dead and buried" now, others insisted they're "not allowed" to talk about the tree for fear of "getting in trouble".
Irene's daughter, however, said she and her family have "forgotten" about the drama.
The woman, who lives on the same street but doesn't overlook the tree from her property, said: "We've forgotten about it. It's all in the past and we want to leave it that way."
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