A man who lost a tooth after tripping on runaway roots has accused Hounslow Council of caring more about trees than people.
Khalil Mughal tripped over the sprawling tree roots on the pavement outside his home in Ellerdine Road, Hounslow , breaking a front tooth.
The 68-year-old said an elderly neighbour had also come a cropper at the same spot and lost one of her teeth.
But he says the council has refused to do anything about the "dangerous" roots for fear of harming the tree.
"The roots have come right up through the pavement and two people have broken a tooth but the council has said it won't do anything," he told getwestlondon .
"It says it can't do anything about the dangerous roots because the tree might die. It seems the council cares more about the safety of its trees than it does about people."
Mr Mughal, who is taking legal action against the council, said he broke his tooth in May last year and his neighbour had fallen there about a year-and-a-half ago.
Hounslow Council was recently accused by Green Party members of "compulsively giving away green spaces" .
Deputy council leader Amrit Mann said: "Mr Mughal has made a claim for compensation to Hounslow Highways with regard to the tree outside his property.
"For data protection and privacy reasons, Hounslow Highways is unable to disclose any information about the claim other than directly to the claimant and anyone acting legally on the claimant's part.
"If Mr Mughal requires an update on the status of his claim, he is welcome to contact the Hounslow Highways insurance team directly at insurance@hounslowhighways.org."
