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A giant oak tree, branded as dangerous by a neighbour, has had a preservation order slapped on it because it looks nice.

And councillors will be asked to make the order permanent next week even though the local resident is warning dead branches could come raining down, causing serious injury and damage.

The tree, which stands alongside the A6 Garstang Road in Broughton village, has been pruned and maintained in the past by residents of adjacent flats in Kingsway Court.

But a temporary tree preservation order (TPO) was taken out on June 22 to prevent unauthorised work on it. The move was "to recognise the value that the tree makes to the amenity of the area," said an officer.

The oak tree which one resident claims is dangerous.

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Preston Council has six months to make the order permanent and so the city's planning committee will decide if it needs protecting beyond then.

The angry resident of one of the flats, who asked not to be named, complained that even though the oak tree looked in good condition during the summer, it was a different picture when it lost its leaves.

"The foliage is presently covering up a multitude of dead and diseased branches, which is a danger to the general public," he said.

The council has slapped a temporary preservation order on the tree.

Council chiefs say the authority's tree expert has assessed it and considered it was in "fair" condition.

But the resident submitted a letter of objection listing a number of concerns he had with it including "causing severe day and sunlight shadows" to two flats – one of them his.

It was also overshadowing the street, he said, "which is a health and safety and security issue" to the general public with a bus stop underneath the tree.

He claimed its roots were causing subsidence to the car park and it was a danger to property because of its size. "If there is a severe strong westerly wind storm this oak tree would cause severe damage."

A report from council officers says the TPO was issued "in the interest of visual amenity."

On overshadowing, residents could apply to the council for permission to prune the tree if necessary. There was no evidence of subsidence caused by the root system.

And the report concludes: "None of the points raised in the objection amounted to a substantive reason not to confirm the TPO."

Mighty oak near Preston could be protected despite resident’s claim it is ‘dangerous’