A DIVORCEE 'desperate' to sell her house tried to make it more attractive to prospective buyers by felling more than two dozen protected trees, a court heard.

Views of the Arnside Estuary and the Lakeland Fells were revealed when 27 trees in woodland close to the four-bedroomed semi-detached house belonging to Marilyn Barnes were chopped down.

The trees, which included Ash, Hazel, Sycamore, Beech and Willow, fell under the High Knott Tree Preservation Order, which is administered by South Lakeland District Council.

Barnes, 61, now living at Emesgate Lane, Silverdale, pleaded guilty to breaching the order and was fined £15,000, ordered to pay £1,260.50 court costs and a £120 victim surcharge when she appeared at South Cumbria Magistrates Court.

Nicola Hartley, for SLDC, said the property, called The Shielings, on High Knott Road, was for sale in October 2013 with an asking price of £399,000.

But in November 2014, after the trees were felled, it appeared back on the market with an asking price of £425,000.

"It is the prosecution case that the unlawful felling has opened up the view and this has the potential to increase the saleability of the property," she added.

"The court must have regard to any financial benefit that has been accrued or likely to accrue as a consequence of the offence."

The felling came to the attention of SLDC on August 28 last year.

Investigations revealed Stephen Lawton, of Moss Lane, Silverdale, was the man who cut down the trees.

The court heard the 25-year-old worked as a pig farmer and joiner but had no qualifications in forestry.

Lawton told an interview that he was helping out a friend and was unaware of any orders protecting the trees. He said he did not receive payment but was given the firewood.

Lawton was fined £3,000 and told to pay the same costs as Barnes.

John Batty, for Barnes, said she was 'extremely embarrassed not just at her own position in court but negligence in not properly instructing Lawton'.

"This should never have happened," he said. "It is a chapter of error and possibly putting one's head in the sand hoping it will go away."

He said Barnes had lost her job after falling off ladders while painting the ceiling in 2010 and had been living off benefits since. She realised she could not afford to live in the house in 2013.

"Interested parties came along but the house was not in a condition that people would want to live in," said Mr Batty. He said she had employed a project manager and was told it would cost £40,000 to get the house into a good condition.

"She had very supportive friends who lent her money but the cost rose to £80,000 and the quality of work was found wanting," he said.

He said she had a £134,000 mortgage, owed friends nearly £90,000 as well as £15,000 to her ex-husband as part of their divorce.

"We have a lady desperate to sell by August 2014," he said. "She is a proud lady who has made a big mistake."

Both Barnes and Lawton also pleaded guilty to wilfully damaging two other trees, a Beech and a Sycamore.

Afterwards Ms Hartley said: “Environmental offences are rarely seen in court in comparison with many other types of offending, but their impact is significant."

She added that the unlawful felling of such a large number of trees, together with wilful damage of further trees, has a significant detrimental impact on the environment, particularly in the loss of habitat for birds and other wildlife.