A COUPLE’S two year long battle with overgrown conifer trees has finally been resolved.

Rita Cole and her husband, Paul have been trying to get the conifer trees which overlook their back garden cut back as it was blocking light from their home.

Mr and Mrs Cole, who are both 71, live in Lavenham Close, Clacton, and their neighbour’s house, where the conifers were growing, is a council-owned property.

The couple said the trees had grown to around 30ft high and the 91-year-old women who lived there was unable to tend to them.

Mrs Cole said she has tried for the past two years to help her neighbour by trying to get the trees to be trimmed back.

But, she claimed, Tendring Council had quoted £2,500 to have the work done.

A spokesman for the council said now the property is vacant, the trees could now be trimmed.

He said: “Tendring Council has not previously obtained a quote for the works so we cannot explain where the figure of £2,500 has come from.

“Prior to the tenant vacating the property, we did give the option of them either cutting them back themselves or for Tendring Council to arrange it at a cost but this did not progress.”

However, after Mrs Cole spoke to the Gazette, the trees were cut back to around 3ffeet high allowing light to flood back into their home.

She said: “It’s taken two years to try to sort it out and it’s finally been done.

“The workmen came around 9am and were still there at 3pm.

“I’m just really pleased that it’s been done. It’s lovely to have the light in the house, it makes such a difference.

“There’s more light in the garden and my husband loves his gardening.

“The work needed doing, they didn’t need trimming back they needed cutting back completely.”