An Indian-origin man who cut down protected trees in Leicestershire has been penalised with a fine of £1,500 for contravening a tree preservation order. Narborough-based Chanda Chawla pleaded guilty at Leicester magistrates' court to two charges of contravening a tree preservation order. Blaby District Council solicitor Joanne Devlin said the trees were cut down in the Narborough Conservation Area, reports said. She said Chawla had been sent three letters by the council advising him to check whether he was in a conservation area, or that any trees were covered by a preservation order before doing anything to them. "He showed a total disregard for the legislation and the preservation order," she added. One of the trees, a mature maple, was described in court as having been "drastically reduced, cropped in a crude manner and lost most of its visual amenity." Victoria Jones, representing Chawla, said he was deeply sorry and had initially just wanted to tidy up. But when he saw the amount of rubbish in the area, he felt he needed to do more. He was fined £500 for each offence and ordered to pay £560 costs with a £15 surcharge.
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