Bank is cleared of undergrowth

A woodland section of approximately 100 yards along the River Severn - near the Ketch area's Carrington Bridge - has been cut back by contractors working for the Severn Motor Yacht Club.

The club says its aim was to pollard the trees and stop riverbank subsidence.

But some fear the trees and bushes have been cut back so savagely that the area has been irreparably damaged.

"A beautiful part of the Severn has been ruined by official vandalism," said an anonymous rambler. "It's devastated an area of woodland and destroyed habitat for wildlife.

"It's one of my favourite walks and I find it extremely upsetting."

The area is on the Severn Way - one of the county's top attractions for ramblers - and the work was carried out for the Severn Motor Yacht Club, which owns the land and trees.

Planning officers at Malvern Hills District Council were taken aback by the scene when they first saw it yesterday.

"We received a call from the club in January asking if the trees were protected," said Mike Gregory, landscape officer at the council.

"I told them they were not and my impression was that there would be some removal across the roadside to stop roots damaging the road.

"When I saw it yesterday I was taken aback. I'm not a structural architect but it seems excessive. We would certainly have got a tree preservation order if we had been tipped off."

However, David Palor, a committee member at the yacht club, said the work had been necessary to preserve the riverbank for the future and safeguard walkers.

"It's called pollarding and the trees will grow back," he said. "The trees were tall and, with the effect of the wind on them, the bank was being damaged.

"With a road above it and two paths along the river, we had to reduce the load on the bank."

Specialist contractors carried out the work over the past two weeks and Mr Palor said the project should help stop riverbank subsidence and preserve the Severn Way.