Elderly resident takes big fall

TOWERING 40 metres tall on Krewelkring, an old Norfolk Pine on Wednesday finally reached the end of its 50-year life in Meerensee.

The reason for its imminent fall is that it literally became the root of the problem for its neighbouring house’s substantial structural damages.

It took a local tree-feller four hours to chop down the lanky pine after the uMhlathuze Traffic Department closed the road for the duration of the job.

According to the garden services owner George Shacks, the exotic tree was planted all over town decades ago and has caused endless problems for residents since.

‘Mostly they are vulnerable to lightning and you can see many pines in both Richards Bay and Empangeni with their tops burnt off,’ said George.

‘What’s worse is that their roots are good electrical conducting paths for lightning and voltages often run straight through them posing fire hazards.

‘The height of the tree is the length of the roots, so they reach far and wide right around the tree resulting in homes’ walls and floors cracking.

‘If you do have a Norfolk Pine, check for these cracks and rather have the tree removed before it results in serious damage to your home.’