Residents have expressed their fury after discovering two "beautiful" trees are to be cut down in a main road, despite council promises there were no plans to fell them.

Lucy Pook, from Brighton, has slammed the council after she said she was told no more trees would be cut down in Western Road, near Waitrose. 

In correspondence seen by The Argus, Ms Pook was told by council staff that there were "no plans" to remove any trees in the area as part of the new development.

She said the trees are "stunning" and need to be protected "at all costs" as they are protecting the area from pollution and noise pollution. 

The council responded to her concerns and said that there are a small number of the remaining trees in a poor condition.

It said: "These will only be removed where this is advised by the council’s tree specialists based on safety and/or the health of the tree."

Ms Pook said she felt "misled" by the council.

A Facebook post urging people to save the trees has garnered more than 100 likes, with more than 60 comments of residents supporting the campaign.

One of the trees is pictured with a placard on it which reads: "I am a beautiful tree, please save me."

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A council spokesman said: “Unfortunately, we are having to remove two trees in Western Road as they’re in decline and may pose a risk to public safety.

"The removal of the trees is not related to the Western Road improvement project.

“Our plan is to replace the trees with healthy ones while the road is under construction which both reduces costs and minimises inconvenience to residents and businesses.

“Following a protest last week, the work has been paused while we consider next steps.

“Brighton and Hove has around 12,000 street trees which are inspected for signs of decay and for Elm and other diseases.

“When diseases are found, or trees are in a dangerous condition, we act quickly to keep the public safe and help prevent further infestations and infections.

"Over the past year we’ve planted over 19,000 trees and tree whips across the city and are planning to plant a further 70,000 tree whips in 2024.”

Ms Pook said that the planting of new trees is "not enough" and that "veteran" trees are replaced by "twigs".