Protestors are seeking an injunction from the Supreme Court to stop the Corporation of Hamilton uprooting a row of 50-year-old trees from their North Hamilton street.

An application was filed with the court yesterday afternoon, following a demonstration in the morning which saw one resident prevent a crane from reaching the trees by positioning herself in front of one of them.

Police were called to the scene on Ewing Street after Sherma Simmons, 61, stood next to the French oak on a “median” strip in the middle of the road and declared that she was “trying to save God’s trees”.

Officers tried to persuade her to move and let Corporation staff pull up the trees, but she only agreed after constituency MP Walton Brown convinced City Hall secretary Edward Benevides to halt the work for 24 hours.

Mr Brown said that would give demonstrators the chance to file an application for an injunction with the Supreme Court, which they subsequently did.

Yesterday morning’s protest, which began at about 9am, was attended by a handful of residents and members of environmental groups Bermuda Environmental and Sustainability Taskforce (BEST) and Keep Bermuda Beautiful.

Demonstrators carried signs calling for the work to stop. Ms Simmons’s sign read: “The residents had a better plan so why wasn’t it accepted? What about due process?”

Workers from the Corporation’s parks department told this newspaper they had no desire to pull up the trees and were following orders from their managers.

But the work never began after Ms Simmons made herself into a human shield to protect the trees, preventing a crane belonging to D&J Construction from getting near.

The impasse ended at about 10.45am, with Ms Simmons and Mr Benevides hugging, after he helped her to safety across a wide cleft in the road.

She told reporters she was a homeowner on Ewing Street and objected to the Corporation’s plan to uproot the trees to widen the road.

“I’ve never done nothing like this in my life; I’m not trying to get glory,” she said. “I’m just trying to do what I believe in my heart is right.”

The issue first flared up in June after the Corporation chopped down some of the trees on Ewing Street, describing them as infiltrated with rot.

Other trees were to be transplanted to Jubilee Park temporarily, while work was done to widen the street, and then replanted along the sidewalks.

Mr Benevides said the eventual plan was to remove the central row of trees, “widen the sidewalks, remove all the utility poles and provide more street trees and lighting in line with the Princess Street project already completed”.

According to architectural designer Ashley Raynor, a nearby business owner, locals were “overwhelmingly” against the scheme and signatures were collected for a petition.

He said: “It just seems like the only people in favour of it is the Corporation.”

Resident Dean Williams said it was “totally inconceivable” that City Hall was taking “such a heavy-handed approach”.

“For me, and I’ve been a resident there for all of my life — 57 years — the owners/residents have not asked much from CoH over the years. In fact, we are asking CoH not to spend money but they seem hellbent on ignoring the wishes of the people.”

BEST founder Stuart Hayward said he admired the courage of Ms Simmons but as concerned for her safety during the protest. He said BEST attended as a symbolic gesture because the trees should stay put.

Mr Hayward said residents were worried that the removal of the median strip would mean the road was used by tractor trailers and other industrial traffic. “This is a residential area, a local street, that shouldn’t be converted into a path for industrial traffic.”

Anne Hyde, of KBB, said the charity was surprised the Corporation rejected a “viable alternative” put forward by residents.

And Bermuda National Trust has raised concerns on its website, where it states: “We believe that apart from diminishing the street’s attractiveness and further urbanising the city, removing the median will undoubtedly facilitate its use by heavy vehicles, severely impacting its residential character.”

Mr Brown said the issue was a very important one for his constituents in Pembroke Central and he would help them fight the removal of the trees. “No one wants to see trees taken up,” he said.

The only elected Corporation member at yesterday’s protest was Councillor RoseAnn Edwards. “I’m not going to give any comment,” she said. “I live in the area so I wanted to see what was going on.”