AN ELDERLY couple say they are being forced to live in darkness – by a row of towering leylandii trees.

Pensioners Joan and Robin Winstone say the huge conifers near their Cheltenham council flat are blocking out the light and making life miserable for residents, despite recent attempts to keep them back.

Joan, 73, said: "They have grown out of all proportion and now they just stop all the light getting through.

"They are dreadful. My husband is disabled and it's not nice for him to have to stay here in a dark flat.

"I know some of the neighbours have tried to plant things, but nothing grows because there isn't any light.

"They have had a terrible time trying to keep them alive."

The trees, which belong to a neighbour, grow along the border of the block in Little Herbert's Close, Charlton Kings. Joan and her 79-year-old husband moved into the block three years ago. The couple initially had a first-floor home, but had to move to the ground floor because of Robin's disability.

The trees are in the garden of 19 Little Herbert's Close. The property's owners refused to comment but, after the Echo contacted them, neighbours spotted workmen trimming the leylandii for four hours. Joan said: "It hasn't made any difference. They're still just as bad as they were before. We are going to have to ask the council if we can move, because we cannot go on living like this."

Neighbour Gloria Hoddy, whose garden also backs on to the trees, said she cannot grow anything in her garden because of the lack of light.

She said: "I put washing out on the line, but it hardly gets any sun because of the trees. We have lived here for 30 years and they have just grown and grown."

Joan said she has asked Cheltenham Borough Homes to intervene and negotiate with her neighbours several times, but to no avail.

Sara Bennett, head of neighbourhood services at Cheltenham Borough Homes, said the authority has tried to engineer a solution to the problem. She said: "The tree in question is situated in a private owner's garden and is therefore the responsibility of the private resident.

"The tree is not considered dangerous, but in an effort to try and assist Mr and Mrs Winstone, we have been in contact with both them and the private occupier over several months. We will re-contact the private occupier and offer again our assistance in this matter."