£10,000 pear tree felled because one resident was allergic to wasps Specialist tree officers had said the 25-year-old pear tree - which is valued at £10,000 - should not be removed unless it was diseased or dying, but councillors voted to get rid of it "just in case." Council tree experts did not support the move and the council's own policy bans this kind of chainsaw massacre. If they can ignore policy on this, it makes you wonder what else they'll do next - It's like they are a law unto themselves. There are concerns that the decision will pave the way for more trees to be cut down for "trivial reasons." Labour councillor Richard Greening defended the move, saying that it had received a report of wasps living in the tree - despite a council report finding that nobody had ever been stung by wasps living in the tree and that there was 'no evidence' of a wasps nest in it. He said: "The residents live there and if they say they have seen wasps there is no reason to doubt them. The risk is so high for people with allergies that on this occasion it was worth going against tree officers. Five people died of wasp or bee stings in the UK in 2010.