RESIDENTS are ‘heartbroken’ after woodland and wildlife was torn down in less than 24 hours.

Jackie Bonham, 55, has lived on Wimborne Road in Corfe Mullen for 17 years and said she is devastated by the destruction of the woodland on the back of her home.

She said the property, which was previously owned by an elderly man before he died, was thriving with conifer trees and plenty of wildlife including woodpeckers, bats and owls.

Bournemouth Echo: Jackie holding a bat that had flown into her house

However, Jackie and her neighbours were awoken at 7am to teams of tree surgeons ‘destroying’ the land.

She added that the workers remained until 9pm in the evening and put up flood lights to work in the dark.

Bournemouth Echo: Aerial shot of the destroyed woodland in Corfe Mullen

“They completely destroyed an eco-system in one day and all the wildlife in it", she said.

“They didn’t even leave the trees on site to let small animals or bats or insects to crawl out, they put it straight into the chipper.”

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Jackie said the previous owner of the property was an avid gardener who ‘lived for his garden,’ and said he would be devastated if he saw it now.

“It's just dead silent now, it's so eerie now that there's nothing there.”

Bournemouth Echo: Jackie said all kinds of insects were seen in the garden

Other neighbours, who are also distraught by the damage, said workers trespassed onto their properties, broke fences, and attempted to cut trees in their gardens during the incident last month.

“My neighbour Gerrard, who is an old soldier, said they took down many mature oaks, hornbeam and ash as well as a tree on his boundary and half of another.

“When they realised it was in his garden they stopped and demanded £800 from him to cut it down.

“When he refused, they said it was dangerous and could kill someone, so he’d be liable, they even broke his fence in the process.”

Jackie said she believes the harm could have been mitigated by selecting a few trees and removing them gradually, instead of a ‘slash and burn in a day’.

The damage was believed to have been caused by housing developers however,  it is not clear who owns the land.

Dorset Council told the Daily Echo that no planning applications have been submitted for the site.