A MEDSTEAD couple have failed in their 15-month battle to save a well-established native hedgerow from the county council axe.

Mike and Sonia Davey have been fighting to retain the 40-year-old hedgerow which separates their garden from the adjoining Homestead Road bridleway.

But on Friday (February 7) council contractors moved in and took the hedge down. And they are devastated.

They described what Hampshire County Council has done as “illegal, immoral and devastating, not just for us, but even more so for all the rare, endangered and even protect wildlife that the hedge supported”.

They believe the council’s argument for removing the hedge was “based on flawed Ordnance Survey information” which was seen to support the definitive statement (legal description) for the bridleway which states that the highway should be 30-feet wide between hedges.

Their fear is that this decision has been driven by potential future development further down the bridleway.

They are now waiting for a belated review of the evidence.Hampshire County Council’s executive member for countryside and rural affairs, councillor Edward Heron, said: “Our priority with rights of way is to ensure that they remain open and safe for the public. “When there is any obstruction on a right of way, our first step is to work with land owners to ensure this is addressed and public access is maintained. "In some cases it becomes necessary to formally request that they remove unlawful obstructions. “In this particular case, following discussions with the landowner, notices were served for the planted hedge and fence that have encroached on the bridleway to be removed. "The mature trees, coppice stools and natural vegetation to the rear of the planted hedge are not affected and do not need to be removed. "The notices requiring the removal of the hedge was appealed by the landowners, but was subsequently upheld by the local magistrate’s court. “The county council has received advice from an ecologist on the appropriate way to remove the hedge planted by the landowners, and minimise the impact on wildlife. "If the landowner does not comply with the legal requirement to remove the planted hedge, and we are legally obliged to undertake this work ourselves, we will seek to minimise disruption to the ecology of the area.”