A selfless councillor and his family came to the rescue last week after storms blew down a large tree on a busy public footpath.

While making his way to the town centre on Saturday, town councillor Tim Avery discovered a man on a mobility scooter struggling to get past the fallen tree in Liston Court.

After learning the tree had been blocking the path since Thursday, June 23 Cllr Avery said he contacted the landowners – Red Kite – and was told they would not be able to remove the tree until after the weekend.

Cllr Avery, his wife Tina and their 10-year old son then decided to take matters in to their own hands.

He said: “I had a look on the Red Kite website an I couldn’t see an emergency number – although I might not have been looking hard enough – for trees that were blocking pathways.

“I rang up and spoke to someone and they did not seem to know if there was an emergency number.

"The tree was proving to be an inconvenience so I decided to step in.

“I took my saw and some secateurs, chopped the tree up and moved it off the path.

“He (Monty) loved it, anything to do with trees or getting his hands dirty he’s more than happy to help."

Red Kite Community Housing said out of hours calls are automatically directed to an emergency number. 

The company did not deem this situation as an emergency and decided the removal of the tree could wait until after the weekend.

Spokesman for Red Kite, Zosia Katnik said: “

Spokesman for Red Kite, Zosia Katnik said: “We’re very grateful to Cllr Avery for taking some action to resolve the issue that was experienced by himself and the local resident – as a community-focussed organisation, we very much welcome such displays of good neighbours and improving communities.

“As it is not clear who Cllr Avery called on this occasion, we would like to reassure our customers that our main phone number can be called anytime for emergencies and the appropriate action will be taken to resolve issues. Our response is proportionate to the risk and cost - our services are paid for by customers who are fully involved in determining and monitoring standards.”

The Liston Court footpaths have been a talking point in the town this year after they came under threat when Red Kite put New Court up for sale last year.

More than 100 residents then rallied together and pleaded with the county council to put the footpaths on the map so they can remain in place for the town to enjoy.

The instatement of the footpaths can take as long as four years to approve, however residents have been assured that the process can be pushed forward if legally necessary.