THE row over felling the tree at Fulford Cross (January 13) highlights how fortunate we in York are when philanthropic and benevolent organisations from all over the UK hire arboriculturists to examine our trees at no financial cost to ourselves.

So interested in our health and safety are the organisations they hire expert after expert until the chosen tree is declared unsafe. How magnanimous. Fortunately for Yorkies, our council heeds these opinions and says: chop it down! This saves the council having to pay the wages of an expert themselves... or does it?

Derek Shaw,

River Street, York.

Updated: 11:12 Tuesday, January 18, 2005