I was very pleased to read the letter in your paper "Why does council employ these hedgerow vandals?".

Please could you express my gratitude to the author of the letter for making a stand. Here, in Armfield Crescent, Mitcham, the council has indeed done exactly the same thing: hacked down all the shrubs to leave mere stumps. And then, on top of that, they butchered my lime trees as well. So there really is nowhere left for the birds to breed!

I think the very least they could have done would have been to put up some nesting boxes for the birds, having removed all their normal breeding habitat! I'm sure there must be some legislation about this somewhere, eg in the Wildlife and Countryside Act?

Perhaps, if they act quickly, they can still do this and redeem themselves. But I somehow doubt they will. And perhaps it is too late now anyway. The nesting season is well underway by now.

I find it particularly sad as Merton Council is making such a big fuss about their "green credentials", with the so-called Merton Rule. And then they let themselves down on something so basic as preventing their green spaces team from doing this damage.

I really hope that your correspondent's letter will be read by any of those responsible within Merton Council - and maybe, just maybe, get them thinking.

BETTI STEPHENS, St Mark's Road, Mitcham