Leylandii have often been the cause of disputes between neighbours

Bridget Jones from Woodside Road, in Sevenoaks, said she needed to cut down the 60ft Leylandii so she could demolish her property and build two homes on the site.

She planned to live in one of the properties and sell the other as a source of income.

But since the district council has placed the order on the tree and the failed to get it overturned, she has had to drop the proposals.

'Completely bizarre'

The Leylandii has often been the cause of neighbour disputes because of its height and how fast it grows.

In October the government gave councils the power to chop back any trees that grow to more than two metres under anti-social behaviour legislation.

Mrs Jones said: "You read so much about Leylandii in the papers and problems they cause and fights with neighbours.

"To actually have a preservation order put on it seems completely bizarre to me."

But tree officer Les Jones, from Sevenoaks District Council, said: "If the tree was removed we felt it would be detrimental to the view of the street so therefore it was felt it would be missed and it was important to preserve so it was confirmed with the order."