A palm tree that obscures a major road has been branded a possible death trap for commuters heading into Hamilton.

One moped rider told The Royal Gazette to complain about the Paget tree which he described as "an accident waiting to happen''.

He added: "It's a busy road during the rush hour. But when you come down Stowe Hill and wait to turn into The Lane you can't see if traffic is coming around the corner from Harbour Road.

"It's only a small tree, but it completely blocks my view of the road when I'm waiting at the junction. Someone should cut it down before it's too late.'' The rider, who asked not to be named, added that Harbour Road was also a main route out of Hamilton for people who had been out on the town.

He said: "You can't tell me -- especially at weekends -- that all these people are sober and safe to drive.'' The 36-year-old Paget executive added that a tree along Spanish Point Drive had only two weeks ago been fingered as a contributory factor in the death of two young men whose bike smashed into it.

Mr. Rendell Tungate, who owns the tree at 1 The Lane, said he was aware of the problem and was planning to remove it soon.

He said: "I often find people come and chop down the leaves. I'm going to get rid of it anyway as I don't like palm trees.'' Current rules allow Government to send workmen to remove dangerous trees if homeowners fail to do so.

Government spokesman Gavin Shorto said: "If the Works and Engineering department have enough complaints, they will notify the homeowner.'' "If they don't do anything about it we go around and cut the trees down and send the owner the bill.'' Roxanne Christopher of the Road Safety Council said this system didn't always work very well.

She said: "The Works and Engineering department get constant complaints about overgrown trees and shrubs obscuring views and getting in the way of road signs.'' "But they don't have enough manpower and response time is slow.'' She said the system could be improved if householders were given loans of equipment from the Works department to do the job themselves.