When Bishops Bridge resident John Slater heard a heavy diesel engine revving and saw a big truck bogged down in his paddock, he suspected the worst.
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Mr Slater, 82, ran to the truck and asked two men inside what they were doing on his property.
He was allegedly told: “We have been contracted by Ausgrid to clear away trees that are a danger to power lines.
“We don’t have to identify ourselves to people, nor ask permission to be on their property when we cut down dangerous trees.”
Over the years, since he bought his property in 1984, Mr Slater said he had been involved in various disputes with power companies regarding different issues.
“I thought it was all beginning again when that truck appeared in my paddock, unannounced,” Mr Slater said.
“I was affronted by the undignified way the men spoke to me and the insulting manner in which they seemed able to do as they liked.”
So from about 2pm to nearly 5pm last Wednesday, he just watched the men as they were joined by a heavy vehicle with a crane that finally lifted their truck from his paddock, leaving a big hole where it had gouged the ground.
Before the men left, Mr Slater asked them which particular tree they had come to cut down beneath a power line.
“They took me to a sapling, its top leaves at least 10 metres beneath overhead wires,” Mr Slater said.
“I couldn’t believe the irony of what I saw – those overhead wires have also been dead wires for the past 10 years.
“It’s not that these people caused me great damage that will cost me a lot of money – and they did promise to come back and fill up the hole,” he said.
“But they seem able to ride rough shod over people and do whatever they want to do.”
But Ausgrid told The Maitland Mercury that, as required under their contract guidelines, Mr Slater had been given written notification that tree trimming would be carried out on his property.
“The contractor has also returned to the property to repair any divots created by its truck and will continue to work with the customer until he is satisfied with the rectification,” Ausgrid said.
“We trim trees to keep the network safe for the community and for our staff working on the network.
“We understand this may sometimes cause concern, but safety is always our highest priority.”