I believe that a neighbour is allowed to cut back any growth that over
hangs his boundaries what ever damage that may cause (unless you live
in a conservation area or the tree has a preservation order on it - in
which case it is subject to the same protection its owner would have
to give it).

The neighbour is suppose to offer the off cuts back to the owner.

Nick

bigjon wrote in message . ..
Our rear garden backs onto the one opposite. We had a lovely young ( 12ft )
Snake Bark Maple in the centre of the back border. Our wonderful neighbour
took it upon himself to trim all the growth over all his fences, including
the leading shoot of our tree, which was slightly leaning over his fence (
about 10 degrees, and not casting any shadow, over his 12 x 6 shed roof ).
This has reduced the tree to an upright trunk of about 6 feet and a top
branch of about 6 ft that leans dramatically back into our garden at about
45 degrees. My questions - was he legally allowed to basically destroy a
healthy tree in this way, as it did not cause any real problem to him, and
should I remove the top branch to allow another to become the lead ?