by Stuart Woledge

The ash tree, already facing extinction on a Europe-wide scale, now has a new threat to contend with – a family’s right to watch television.

Bearsted man Ian Forrest has written to Maidstone council asking it to chop down two ash trees on its land opposite his Button Lane home.

The father-of-two claims they have been interfering with his family’s TV reception since they moved to the area in 2003, and has pleaded with the council that they “cannot live like this”.

His request comes at a time when imports of ash have been banned following last year’s detection of the ash die-back fungal disease known as chalara.

Some cases have been reported in Kent, and the government has felled 100,000 trees around the country in a bid to halt its spread.

Mr Forrest wrote to the council earlier this month to say: “This is the year 2012 [sic] and the digital age.

"As a resident of Bearsted and a customer of Maidstone Borough Council I would expect a reliable TV signal is a basic need and requirement, this should no longer be a luxury.”

The KM Group approached Mr Forrest, but he declined to comment further on the application.

The documents submitted to the council reveal he paid a professional aerial company to look into the problem and its recommendation is that felling the two trees is the only solution.

Mr Forrest claims he can't watch television because of ash trees

He also claims other ash trees nearby are showing signs of “rot and decay”, although this has not been confirmed.

If the trees are to be condemned, he might have a fight on his hands first.

The council has confirmed the ash trees are protected by legally binding Tree Preservation Orders, and a decision will need to be made as to whether or not his proposal is justified before the axe will be allowed to fall.

A public consultation is under way, with a decision due by the end of the month.

Maidstone Green Party co-ordinator Stuart Jeffery added: “We don’t want to be sacrificing trees, especially endangered species, when there could be other solutions.”