Instead of trimming the trees along the edge of his property, workers “annihilated them” according to Jaspers Brush Road resident Bill Abbott.

“I went to work on Wednesday, I came home and somebody had hacked at them,” he said.

“Some had been cut down to the fence-line, others, they’ve left three or four metres higher.

“It’s not as if they don’t know what they’re doing, they just don’t care.

“It’s taken all the shade off the front lawn, they’ve done it to every tree on the road, completely mangled them.”

Bill has contacted the contractors, who said they would return to assess the damage on Monday, but he hasn’t heard from them since.

The Katoomba-based contractor Asplundh Tree Expert was “unable to speak to media” and referred the South Coast Register to Endeavour Energy.

A spokesman said Endeavour Energy pruned trees near powerlines to protect public safety and prevent local customers from experiencing blackouts caused by branches contacting powerlines.

“This tree on Jaspers Brush Road has been managed in a similar manner over many years and the most recent pruning removed regrowth since the last pruning cycle,” the spokesperson said. 

The spokesperson said NSW industry safety standards required a clearance of at least two and a half metres between bare wire powerlines and trees. 

“Once the safety clearance is achieved, individual branches are pruned back to the nearest growth collar to protect the health of the tree,” the spokesperson said.

“While the pruning in this case is severe, safety must always be our first priority when dealing with live electricity.”  

For someone who takes pride in his yard, and worked as a superintendent of parks and gardens on Randwick Council for more than a decade, Bill’s very disappointed with the workmanship.

“It’s a shame because I think we keep the place quite tidy,” he said.

”They’ve even left logs here for me to clean up, but they’re too heavy to lift.”