Commuters could be killed if spring gales blow down massive poplar trees on to the train line at Leigh, neighbours feared today.

They complained that Southend Council was neglecting the area and pleaded for the most dangerous looking branches to be cut down as soon as possible.

Leading their concerns was Nigel Readman, of Cliff Parade, Leigh, who described the huge trees on cliffs opposite Essex Yacht Club as "an accident waiting to happen."

Mr Readman, who runs Readman's Industrial Estate at East Tilbury, said: "The trees are on a section of the cliffs which front on the the little gypsy bridge.

"They are in a pretty poor state of repair with broken branches. If there was a gale they would just fall on the down line from Fenchurch Street.

"My daughter commutes on that line to London. All it needs is for one of the trees to fall and a train coming round the bend would never see it.

"It would cause a derailment, which could plough into an upcoming train, and hundreds could be killed.

"I don't want to see the trees taken down altogether because their roots are all embedded in the cliffs, but the council needs to just lop them."

"Then, if they did get blown over, they would fall short of the track."

Mr Readman said he had raised this before with Southend Council, but nothing had yet been done.

He said: "If you look at parks and gardens in Southend, some of them look very nice indeed, but this area seems totally neglected.

"There is graffiti all over the place, yobs leave their lager cans and needles about. The trees have not been lopped for 15 to 20 years. There's about another 30 feet of growth there."

A Railtrack spokesman said the company would be investigating. He said: "We really don't like the idea of chopping down trees, but if necessary, measures will be taken in liaison with the council, to ensure the safety of the railway."

Nick Harris, spokesman for Southend Borough Council's leisure Services Department said the council was aware of the situation.

He said: "We are investigating it but there are unlikely to be any serious problems and we will consult with Railtrack if there are."

Concerned for passengers' safety - Nigel Readman

Picture: STEPHEN LLOYD

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.