NEIGHBOURS who sawed a tree EXACTLY in half in a "petty" revenge act finally speak out - saying "we did the right thing."

       Mrs Mistry and her husband Bharat are still said to be “at loggerheads” with the couple next door after the fir tree’s fate four months ago.

       3

       Neighbours are STILL locked in a bitter feud after a tree was sawed in half Credit: Glenn Ashley 3

       The tree, pictured in June, was cut after a neighbour didn't want it hanging over their driveway

       Their neighbours Graham and Irene Lee, who they’d previously always got on well with during their 29 years living side by side in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, sawed the tree exactly in half in June.

       The couple, in their 70s, had complained that the branches were hanging over their front driveway, attracting pigeons and causing a problem with bird mess and coo-ing noise.

       Irene told the Sun Online: “It’s all died down now. It happened months ago. It caused a lot of upset at the time but everyone is trying to get on.

       Her daughter, who also lives in the same street, said: “Mum and dad did the right thing. They don’t want to fall out with anyone, they are too old. They still say hello to the neighbours.”

       Supermarket admin assistant Mrs Mistry said today: “It continues to be a talking point and the test will be the winter.

       “The tree looks weird and I’m still annoyed. My tree expert said there is a risk of it not surviving the harsh winter.

       Most read in The Sun

       ZUCK'S NEW LOOK Facebook changes name to Meta as Zuckerberg vows to create 'new internet'

       NAME GAME Stacey Solomon reveals kids’ REAL names after sharing Rose's birth certificate

       STARK REALITY Boy, 10, left in tears after being bullied over Iron Man costume

       TOY JOY Toys R US is opening a new UK online shop and high street stores next year

       Gossip

       CONT ME IN Conte ‘says yes to Man Utd’ and ready to join if Solskjaer is sacked after Spurs

       FIGHTING FIT Katie Price SLAMS Jodie Marsh in new book as she reignites decades-old feud

       "It’s been cut in half but I’m hoping it won’t die.

       “It still looks good from our side.”

       The year-long dispute culminated with the Lee’s calling in a tree surgeon to cut half the branches off the 16-feet tree which had stood more than 30 years in the Mistry’s front garden.

       Pictures of the tree in secluded cul-de-sac Brier Close in Waterthorpe went viral and even discussed on TV’s Channel 5 Jeremy Vine show.

       Mum-of-two Mrs Mistry, in her 50’s, said: “Many of us have lived here for a long time and the neighbours are trying not to take sides. They have their opinions about the tree but are not vouching for them."

       She said her own tree surgeon was horrified when he saw what had happened.

       Mrs Mistry told The Sun Online: “He was gobsmacked and couldn’t believe it. We have always maintained it well, cutting it and re-shaping it every other year.

       “He said to leave it for a year, if it survives, and see if anything frowns back. He said it may or may not.

       “Our tree surgeon would never have cut it in half. The Lee’s got a different one. They didn’t ask out permission, they just told us what was happening.

       “We’d never had any issues or problems before. It is such a lovely neighbourhood.

       TREE FURY

       “We were always neighbourly towards each other but now it’s a brief hello only.

       “The Lee’s lived there before us and the tree on our side had never been a problem.

       "But they started saying the branches were hanging over and there was too much mess and noise from the pigeons it was attracting. What do you expect? They’re birds!

       "We were really upset, devastated when they chopped it half down. There was no need. We could have come to a compromise.”

       The Lee’s declined to comment about the tree surgery.

       But neighbour Anne Wilds, whose bungalow overlooks the chopped tree side, revealed: “They’re still at loggerheads, it’s quite clear.

       CUT IT OUT

       “It’s a pity because they used to get on so well had been trying to organise a street party together for the Queen’s Jubilee which fell apart because of bad weather.”

       Anne, 82, added: “I think it’s crazy it came to this. The tree looked like a giant lollipop and now it’s split in two. It should have been left as it was.

       “The Lee’s didn’t like all the pigeon poo but that’s nature.”

       Other neighbours who were approached didn’t want to take sides in the feud, with one man saying: “It’s a lovely neighbourhood. I can sympathise with pigeon poo dropping on a car but I don’t want to get involved!

       “We won’t say a bad word.”

       Another man said: “We moved into the street in May and watched that tree come down. My comments? I’m not sharing them.

       "They’re lovely people living here, we feel safe and sound and don’t want to rock the boat.”

       3

       Mrs Mistry and her husband Bharat are still “at loggerheads” with the couple next door after the fir tree’s fate four months ago Credit: Glenn Ashley

       We pay for your stories!

       Do you have a story for The Sun news desk?

       Email us at exclusive@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4104. You can WhatsApp us on 07423 720 250. We pay for videos too.

       Click here to upload yours.

       Click here to get The Sun newspaper delivered for FREE for the next six weeks.