If people or public safety are at immediate risk
Move people away and prevent access only if you can do so without approaching the tree. Call 999 for an immediate threat to life. If electricity equipment may be involved, stay clear and use the electricity-network route rather than touching the tree or cable.
- Do not stand beneath hung-up branches
- Do not touch a tree contacting overhead lines
- Do not enter a road to photograph the damage
- Tell the caller whether a road, building or access is blocked
Information that helps urgent triage
From a safe position, give the exact location, what changed, what could be struck and whether movement is continuing. Wide photographs can help a specialist decide the likely team and equipment, but do not prove the tree is safe.
- Full postcode and access instructions
- Tree or branch size in relation to a known object
- Targets: people, home, road, vehicle, neighbour or cable
- When the damage occurred and current weather
- Any known TPO or conservation-area status
Urgent work and protected trees
Government guidance distinguishes an immediate risk of serious harm from work that can wait. Work under an exception should go only as far as necessary to remove that immediate risk, and notice requirements may still apply. Keep dated photographs and a record of professional advice.
- Contact the relevant local authority as soon as practicable
- Document why the work could not wait
- Retain the written work specification and photographs
- Plan follow-up assessment after the immediate risk is controlled
Separate the immediate hazard from the follow-up work
Once the immediate situation has been assessed, the remaining job may include removing damaged material, clearing timber, inspecting adjacent trees or planning replacement planting. Record what has already been done and keep any written advice or council correspondence.
Our enquiry form can collect a follow-up brief, but it is not an emergency dispatch service. Do not wait for a form response when people are in immediate danger. Attendance, equipment and the work that can proceed need to be confirmed directly; this page does not promise a 24-hour response.