TREES in York city centre have been significantly cut back.

Work, which started last week, is expected to take two weeks to complete.

Harvey Lowson, City of York Council's aboricultural manager, said: "The London Plane trees on Parliament Street are pruned every five years. This type of hard pruning is called pollarding which helps keep the canopy of large trees in size suitable for the environment in which they were planted. Pollarding is repeated at set intervals retaining trees at a set size.

"Across Europe, Plane trees are often managed in this way in city settings to retain lush green leaf cover. The work is normally carried out after Christmas when the streets are quieter and before the trees come into leaf which, in turn, encourages a new crown of leaves to quickly form during the summer."