Lorraine Kelly has been denied permission to chop a tree in the middle of her driveway of her Bourne End home, according to national reports.

The TV star will have to continue to put up with bird droppings on her car and pine needles blocking the gutters of her £2 million home after Buckinghamshire Council did not grant her consent to chop down a Corsican pine tree.

As the tree was subject to a Tree Preservation Order, the Scottish TV presenter and her husband Steve Smith had to ask for planning permission to fell the outsize pine.

Bucks Free Press: (Image: Buckinghamshire Council)(Image: Buckinghamshire Council)

The application claimed that the tree which is close to the couple’s garage and an electric vehicle charging point was “an obstruction” and had “outgrown its environment”.

It also stated that droppings from birds were “falling onto the vehicles” below and that the tree’s falling needles were blocking guttering and down pipes.

Further claims were made that “daily vehicle movements around the base of the tree” were likely to damage its roots in the future.

A report drawn up by Buckinghamshire Council described the tree as “one of several large, mature pines” in the local Conservation Area and therefore refused the application.

The Daily Mail reports that the local parish council had no objection to the application but it was met with a number of objections from nearby residents insisting that the tree remains in place.

One wrote: "This tree has been on site for more years than any of us.

"It has a right to be there. I could understand if it was about to fall over.

"Please, please, please do not let this lovely tree be destroyed on a whim of the site owner.

"Please allow it to live out its life without harm until such time as it becomes a danger.

"Mr and Mrs Smith have not lived down the lane as long as some residents and to remove trees and change the environment for their own ends does not bode well and seems both whimsical and selfish in mine and others' opinions."

Another wrote: "Mr and Mrs Smith may decide to move on once all their work is done on their property, leaving behind an empty space where once an inoffensive specimen with all its wonderful habitat once thrived."

Whilst one added: "It came as a great shock to me that our neighbour would want the pine tree removed. In this time of conservation, we should all think well before destroying beautiful trees such as this one.

"After all, this pine tree was there long before any of us were around."

The Daily Mail claims the local authority rejected the application and said: "The role of the council is to find balance between the harm that would be caused to public amenity if the tree were felled, and the concerns raised by the applicant/agent.

“Felling the tree would result in significant loss of vegetation, which would be harmful to the character and appearance of the conservation area."