A resident whose house backs onto Danson Park has accused Bexley council of "an act of vandalism" after trees were cut down in the park.

Suzanne Downer, who lives on Radnor Avenue, told News Shopper the council "had no idea what they were doing" in a project to cut down poplar trees in the park and replace them with a new woodland area.

As she watched workmen cut down trees in the park, Mrs Downer said: "It fell narrowly missing my neighbour's fence, and then collapsed onto the newly planted tree whips."

Since they had the chop, the tree trunks have been left in a pile on the ground.

Mrs Downer also expressed concerns about the birds in the poplars that are being felled, accusing the council of not checking the trees for birds nests before tearing them down.

However, Bexley council has rejected this claim and insisted all trees were inspected before they were cut down.

A spokeswoman for the council said: "We require our contractors to examine each of the trees and report back to us before carrying out any work.

"Owls may have been seen perching on the trees, but there were no bird nests found or reported.

"These bare poplar trees do not make great nesting spots for owls, which usually prefer sheltered nesting spots such as holes in tree trunks, which these poplars do not provide.

We brought forward our plans to remove the final four poplar trees due to the current replanting programme in this part of the park.

"While a few of the 2,400 young smaller trees we planted may have been damaged during the operation, we’re aiming for no more than 400 of these to grow into mature trees and they will continue to be selectively thinned."

She added that, of the waste left behind, most of the twigs had been removed, but larger leftover material from trees will be moved elsewhere for new habitat spaces.