Retired couple win 10-year battle for £38,000 payout after council bosses refused to chop down enormous cedar tree that is damaging their home

Retired couple win 10-year battle for £38,000 payout after council bosses refused to chop down enormous cedar tree that is damaging their home 

Bill and Mary Nicholson, 79, from Derby, had pleaded with the authority to cut it down a decade ago but planners refused on the grounds that it created an 'attractive and healthy environment'. The 58ft cedar tree's roots ended up causing cracks in the brickwork and internal plastering of the Nicholsons' semi-detached £400,000 home (pictured right) and the couple have now been awarded compensation. The pair were handed £3,000 for stress and inconvenience and their insurers £35,000 for the cost of the building work.