THE National Trust has planted more than a thousand saplings, just weeks after villagers criticised the charity for chopping up riverside trees. Residents of Buscot, much of which is owned by the National Trust, hit out after willows were pollarded along a stretch of the River Thames in February. The trust said that the traditional practice involved ‘cutting back riverbank willows to the height of two to three metres, and is carried out on a regular cycle of approximately 10 years’. Residents in Buscot were concerned by the cutting of trees in the village. Picture: Ed Nix Buscot residents in February. Picture: Ed Nix