RESIDENTS living near Elvaston Castle have hit out at Derbyshire County Council after about 100 trees were felled which, they claim, has led to noise and light pollution.

People in Thulston say the trees formed a natural barrier which gave them security and shielded them from the the A6 and A50.

The Friends of Elvaston Castle, who are campaigning to stop the attraction becoming a hotel, say they believe the trees, at the south of the grounds, were being felled to make way for a slip road.

But site owners Derbyshire County Council said it was for routine maintenance work.

Colin Naylor, 64, of Grove Court, Thulston, said he was not consulted about the move despite living directly behind where the trees used to stand.

He said: "The noise and lights from the A6 and A50 has been terrible.

"The trees in that area haven't been properly maintained in 40 years and now they have come across and blitzed it. About 100 trees have been cut down."

Brian Slater, 66, of Grove Close, said he would have to look at getting better security now the trees are gone.

He said: "You can see right the way through the trees now. It's made us more vulnerable."

Vicky Collins, who regularly walks her dogs in the country park, said she was shocked to see the number of trees cut down.

Mrs Collins, 27, of Duffield Road, Darley Abbey, said: "I can't see why it would be necessary to cut that many down.

"It has badly affected the look of the area."

A Friends spokesman said he believed the trees could have been cut down to make way for a sliproad leading from the B5010.

Elvaston Castle and its grounds are due to be converted into a hotel and 27-hole golf course after Highgate Sanctuary was chosen to take over its lease in 2006.

And the Friends believe a sliproad could form part of new access plans for the land.

The spokesman said: "We believe a sliproad would have to be built so any new access road avoids the historic gates at the south of the site.

"People are saying they are getting a lot of noise they were not getting previously. They should have been consulted."

A county council spokesman said the routine maintenance work had included "thinning out some self-setting sycamores which were choking some well-established oak trees".

He added: "The trees in question were self-set saplings and not part of the park's original planting.

"As owners of the site, we would only have to consult over removing the trees if they were subject to a tree preservation order or were in a conservation area. These trees were not."