A Malvern woman says she was "horrified" to see veteran trees being felled in an area of the town which has been ear-marked for development.

Wishing to remain anonymous, she says she was cycling near Pickersleigh Grove with her family when she spotted the trees being chopped down.

She said: "I was using one of the public rights of way while out cycling with my family and was horrified to see that veteran trees had been felled.

"In fact while I was cycling through, there was a medium sized unmarked flat-bed truck and a couple with a chainsaw busy working their way systematically through the back gardens of the houses."

Permission has been secured to demolish 48 homes in the cul-de-sac, housed in 12 buildings, and replace them with 92 homes in Pickersleigh Grove and an adjoining field, built by Fortis Living.

The development plan states veteran trees would be incorporated into the building scheme.

Fortis Living says only trees which are unprotected have been felled, and continued development will incorporate appropriate trees.

Duncan Smith, assistant director of growth and development at Fortis Living, said:"The regeneration scheme at Pickersleigh Grove continues to incorporate veteran trees with protection orders as outlined in the development plan.

"In order to complete the further development work in this area, it has been necessary to remove a number of unprotected trees.

"The removal of the trees has been carried out following recommendation from the arboricultural survey which was submitted at the time of the planning application".