Residents have partly won their battle to stop trees being protected after compiling a protest petition warning of the impact on their properties.

Worthing Borough Council wanted to place tree preservation orders on six Monterey Cypresses, three sycamores two silver birches and one Lawson Cypress between 115 and 117 Littlehampton Road, just east of Ringmer Road in Worthing.

But people living in Rusper Road South got together a petition claiming many of the trees encroached on to their properties and blocked natural light.

The protesters said: "The trees in question are conifers that deposit cones and needles in proliferation.

"The waste accumulates on the adjacent garages and falls over the footpath at the rear of numbers 82-92 Rusper Road South and the adjacent garage forecourt, causing a nuisance and a great deal of inconvenience."

It was feared as some of the trees grew, their roots would damage garages and drains.

The owner of 84 Rusper Road South wrote: "My main concern is the group of three Monterey trees which overhang the block of garages where I keep my car.

"I am amazed you consider these trees to be beautiful and an asset to the area.

"I consider them to be in a parlous neglected state and a danger to the residents using the garage area.

"Many of the branches are dead or dying, with a lot of loose branches being blown down by the winds causing damage to the garage roofs, which now need repair.

"Some months ago I had a very large branch land directly outside my garage door. Had I been there when this happened, I could have been badly hurt or worse."

Council tree experts inspected the site and recommended the three Monterey Cypress and one Lawson Cypress trees be deleted from the preservation order.

Meanwhile, four trees in the grounds of Arundel Lodge, 2 Shelley Road and Arundel House, 1 Liverpool Gardens, have been protected They are a whitebeam, a flowering cherry, a purple-leaved plum and a horse chestnut.

The same applies to a Turkey oak at 11 Hayling Gardens, despite a letter of objection from the owners of 3 High View, who said: "We find our garden is in the shade for most of the year due to the overhanging branches in this tree.

"We respect the beauty of trees in this area but are concerned the size should be controlled, as our garden is small."