Donna Lucas, 33, has had problems with the troublesome tree for six years – particularly the bothersome birds that punctuate “every five centimetres” of her garden with their mess.

Ms Lucas and her neighbours on Westfield Road have been trying for years to get the council to properly maintain the tree, which stands on land the authority owns behind her garden, blocks out light and “looks tatty”.

For three years Ms Lucas has been asking the council to prevent the pigeons from roosting in the oak, which last year the authority protected with a tree preservation order.

But it wasn’t until last Tuesday that any action was taken.

“The council have just hung some silver foil strands from the tree in the hope it will put the birds off from roosting there and that’s it,” she said of the measures the council has taken to stop the pigeons.

“We can’t use our garden. We don’t use it. Last year we spent quite a bit of money on it; putting in a new patio. It’s trashed.

“We only use the garden to go to and from the shed.”

In addition to the pigeon problem Ms Lucas explained that tree branches often fall into her garden, one of which “almost hit a neighbour’s grandchild”, and that people fly-tip in the area.

She said: “It’s a deluge of pigeon poo. My garden furniture is ruined. I half painted the shed last year and gave up.

“You can’t sit out there for fear of being hit.”

And the silver foil preventative measures put in the tree have failed – as the tree is as popular as ever with the birds.

Ms Lucas said: “There are lots of them up there. What the council has done looks like Christmas decorations. It’s a joke.

“The two guys who knocked on Tuesday from the council’s contractor were laughing. They were embarrassed.

“They said they didn’t want anyone to see them putting it up. And they were embarrassed that the council hadn’t contacted me to tell me what they were doing.”

A council spokesman explained that the strips of foil are designed to act as a “bird repellent”.

He added: “This is the only solution open to the council because we can’t harm a legally protected tree.

“We pruned the tree by 25 per cent in 2012 and, because it is protected by a tree preservation order (TPO) we will be unable to prune it again until the winter of 2016.

“We considered using a bird repellent gel on the tree but were unable to do this, again due to the TPO, because it would damage the tree.

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