Residents are breathing a sigh of relief after a council stepped in to save 11 trees at The Spitfire cricket ground in Canterbury from being bowled over.

The large trees lining Old Dover Road were earmarked for the chop by Kent County Cricket Club due to having a “history of failure”.

But scores of dismayed opponents questioned why the long-standing chestnut, lime, beech, maple and sycamores needed to be uprooted.

Now, the city council has stepped in and dealt a fatal blow to the cricket club’s plan by granting the “valuable” trees indefinite protection.

They are now all covered by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO).

Relieved neighbour David Kemsley, from the Oaten Hill and South Canterbury Association, said: “It’s great news the council has done its bit and protected the trees.

“It’s nice to know the council is in tune with what all of us residents have said.

“The plan is environmental vandalism which cannot be justified in the face of climate change.

“I can’t understand why they want them chopped down. There are limited details in the planning application.”

One tree by the ground’s entrance did fall in Storm Eunice’s 90mph winds earlier this year, and the cricket club argues all of the trees “overhang the road and footpath, which are extremely busy”.

As part of the felling plan, the club proposed planting 14 lime trees in their place.

The ground does have a history with lime trees, with it being home to the famous St Lawrence Lime for more than 150 years before its demise in 2005.

However, the plans to replace the existing trees have been labelled “preposterous” by unimpressed residents, who argue low-standing limes would be an ineffective replacement.

The issuing of the TPO was confirmed by the council on Tuesday.

Authority spokesman Rob Davies said: “A conservation area notice was received for the felling of 11 trees at the cricket ground.

“With a notice like this, we can either allow the proposed work to go ahead, or place a TPO on the trees to ensure they remain in place.

“In this case, this row of trees dominates the setting they are in and makes a valuable contribution to the conservation area. Although some of the trees are struggling, these issues can be resolved without needing to remove them all. Some of them require no work at all.

“We therefore concluded that felling these trees was not justified and are in the process of placing a TPO on them. This will last indefinitely and will mean they continue to make a positive contribution to this area of the city.”

The preservation order on the Old Dover Road trees comes a week after five trees in the high street were saved from the axe by the council.

The authority had long planned to chop down the trees between Metro Bank and Fenwick, but bosses reconsidered their vision following a fierce backlash from campaigners.