Lines company pays out after pensioner's hedge hacked back

When Lorraine Youngman discovered her poplar hedge had been aggressively cut back, she was “heartbroken”.

The 86-year-old Ellesmere Rd resident takes pride in her garden, and at the entry to her property, she maintains a row of poplar trees as a hedge.

Lorraine had returned from milking her cows at about 10am two Fridays ago and noticed a contractor’s vehicle at the end of her driveway.

“I thought they were just using it to turn around,” she said.

But about two hours later, as Lorraine was leaving for an appointment, she discovered a contractor from lines company Orion had severely cut the hedge back, with all branches removed.

"I pulled alongside these five men and said: ‘How dare you do that to my trees'.

"They said: ‘We have instructions to do that, and you would have got a piece of paper saying that’s what we were going to do’."

Now Orion has apologised and given Lorraine $1000, which she will donate to Pet Refuge, a charity that helps remove animals from homes affected by domestic violence so they don’t hinder someone trying to escape abuse.

“It is my absolute favourite charity, and it has a lot of meaning for me. I think that’s quite a nice donation.”

Lorraine said Orion told her they sent a letter in March, but she could not remember receiving it.

An Orion spokesperson told Selwyn Times there had been a “lapse” in the notification process and the company was working to rectify it.

“While the landowner was notified ahead of the initial visit, a second visit was required to address a quality issue.

“In this instance, the subsequent visit was not communicated as it should have been,” the spokesperson.

Lorraine said in previous years, Orion contractors had only trimmed the tops, and she would hire a maintenance person to tidy the hedge.

“There hasn’t been an issue for 34 years.”

She had “no idea” why the trees were cut back so severely this time.

The spokesperson explained it was due to poplars being a fast-growing species.

“The initial trimming was considered insufficient, allowing the fast-growing tree species to encroach on overhead lines before the next routine cut cycle.

“We are currently reviewing all of our processes, including the length of cuts and engagement with landowners, to prevent similar incidents happening in future,” the spokesperson said.