A COUNCIL has provoked fury after cutting back horse chestnut trees to stop children hurting themselves gathering conkers.

Mothers are angry at the decision, which has been branded a case of the nanny state gone mad.

Six horse chestnuts in South Shields, South Tyneside, have been stripped of their branches by council contractors.

The action was authorised by the council after a young boy was injured falling out of a tree as he tried to reach prize conkers.

But people who live nearby have branded the harsh pruning a disgrace.

Mother Karen Williams, 30, said: "Children will always try to gather conkers and if they don't do it here, they will go elsewhere.

"It is a shame the little boy was hurt but this is a gross over-reaction from the council."

North-East Conservative MEP Martin Callanan said: "This is a case of the nanny state gone mad. I wonder if the council will follow this to its natural conclusion and cut down all the trees in South Tyneside so that children won't hurt themselves climbing up them."

A 70-year-old woman, whose home overlooks the trees, also criticised the decision.

She said: "The council hasn't just ruined the playtime of the children, it has ruined some lovely old trees. It is a disgrace."

The council now intends to go even further by replacing the trees with a less threatening species over the next few months.

A council spokeswoman said: "In light of the danger, the council had no option but to implement a commonly-used method known as pollarding, which involves cutting back the branches to encourage bushy re-growth, but with no conkers produced."