'Bizarre' mystery befalls Cowplain couple as beloved fir tree cut down without warning while they sat in their lounge

David and Dale Llewellyn were in their Cherry Tree Avenue home on April 26 when they heard an almighty crash from their front garden. David, 76, told The News: ‘I was sitting down in the lounge for no more than five minutes and saw a big piece of tree go past the window.

‘I thought “where on earth has that come from”. We dashed out and it had been cut. You can quite clearly see the chainsaw marks from where it has been cut off.

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‘It wasn’t an accident, but what a funny place to cut it, 5ft above the ground.’ The plant was bought as a gift, with the Llewellyns watching it grow over the past few decades – having moved into the house 35 years ago. Neither of them had asked for it to be felled.

Dale said she heard a motorised saw running but didn’t think much of it – eventually hearing a ‘whoosh’ and her tree crumpling to the floor.

‘It came flying down in our garden and David went to find out what happened but the person who did it had gone away’, she said, ‘but someone was rolling up the telephone line because they couldn’t get over the road.

‘It was all hanging down. I didn’t think anyone would be cutting our tree down in our own garden, so I never realised what was happening.

‘I don’t understand it. I’m looking at the poor tree now. It’s looks like an eyesore.’ David has reported the incident to the police and BT but questions still remain.

He spent much of the next day clearing the remains of the damaged timber, which had destroyed many of their other flowers. David said: ‘They had lots of sentimental memories for us. When Dale came out she shouted “oh no it’s everywhere and on top of my flowers”.

‘If it’s human error and someone has gone to the wrong address, I would have thought they would have the decency to say “oops, I’ve just cut down part of your tree”. Perhaps I’ve got too much faith in the human race.

‘I still can’t believe it happened. It could have gone through the lounge windows. We haven’t fallen out with anyone as far as we know.

‘The whole situation is bizarre.’ Dale added: ‘No one can shed any light on it at all.

‘If anyone had been walking down one of the paths or something, it would have been a disaster. People had to go round to the neighbour’s garden to get to our front door.’

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David added that his wife was in the front lounge when it happened at roughly 2pm, and he was working around the corner near the garage for most of the morning.

Havant Borough Council said no trees were under a protection order and the property is not under an area of conservation. A spokeswoman said it is courteous for anyone undertaking work to notify the property owner. Hampshire County Council confirmed it had not removed the tree.

A police spokeswoman said the incident has been reviewed and filed, though they will investigate any new lines of enquiry when they come to light.