{"id":140245,"date":"2016-12-08T07:02:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-08T05:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/140245\/metro-ignores-residents-pleas-to-have-dangerous-trees-removed\/"},"modified":"2016-12-08T10:33:25","modified_gmt":"2016-12-08T08:33:25","slug":"metro-ignores-residents-pleas-to-have-dangerous-trees-removed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/news-headlines\/2016\/12\/08\/metro-ignores-residents-pleas-to-have-dangerous-trees-removed\/","title":{"rendered":"Metro ignores resident\u2019s pleas to have dangerous trees removed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leonie Bronkhorst and her family were rudely awoken last Monday night as a tree crashed into their Pine Avenue home\u2019s boundary wall, snapping their electric fence.<\/p>\n

The tree had fallen as a result of the terrible storm that ripped through the suburb.<\/p>

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\u201cI was furious as I had asked for this tree and several others to be removed as they had become dangerous. But the metro had ignored my requests,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Bronkhorst went to the metro\u2019s customer care centre in the CBD to report the matter and get the tree removed, and was shocked when she was informed that it was not the metro\u2019s responsibility to remove the tree.<\/p>

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\u201cThe man was so rude to me and said it wasn\u2019t the metro\u2019s problem,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t care that we now face a security problem as we are unable to use our electric fence or that our insurance company is unable to begin repairs until the tree is removed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last Tuesday afternoon, however, a team of technicians from the metro arrived with a crane which they hoped would remove the tree.<\/p>\n

This, however, was the wrong tool for the job and the workers had to leave to collect the correct equipment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf my son had not stopped them from using the crane, I am convinced that they would have ripped a section of our wall out of its foundation,\u201d Bronkhorst said.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, technicians returned to the Primrose East home manned with chainsaws and slowly began to cut away the tree.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe technicians have been incredibly rude to us,\u201d Jason Bronkhorst said. \u201cWhen I asked them to be careful of the electric fence they rudely told me they know what they are doing and to let them do their job.\u201d<\/p>\n

The GCN sent a query to the metro to find out why the technicians had been so rude to the family and why the family was told that the metro would not assist when the matter was first reported.<\/p>\n

At the time of going to press no comment had been received from the metro.<\/p>\n