England star Declan Rice has had two oak trees in his garden cut back after a neighbour called Mr. Green claimed that one of them was filling his gutters with acorns.

Council officials had to give permission for the pruning as both the oaks on the grounds of the 23-year-old midfielder’s £2.6 million mansion are protected by Tree Preservation Orders.

Declan Rice has cut down two oak trees

Neighbor Alan Green shares a garden border with the Arsenal defensive midfielder

Rice did not object to his neighbour Alan Green’s request for the work to be done.

Mr. Green, 83, applied to cut back two or three branches of one tree overhanging his garden by up to 9 feet and for a ‘large lateral branch’ to be cut back on a second oak.

A tree surgeon who submitted the application on Mr. Green’s behalf estimated that the work would cost £400 plus VAT.

The surgeon also submitted a further quote to remove a branch of a Scots pine in the pensioner’s garden at a cost of £160 plus VAT.

It is not known whether Arsenal star Rice contributed to the cost of the work on the two trees that stand at the end of his 0.7-acre garden near Reigate, Surrey.

The application was approved by Reigate and Banstead Borough Council in September, more than two months before the player flew to Qatar with the Three Lions squad.

Planning documents visible on the council’s website inadvertently name the footballer’s father, Sean Rice, as the owner of his luxury six-bedroom home.

But Land Registry records confirm that the property is owned by Declan Rice, who played for the Republic of Ireland before switching to England in 2019.

Mr. Green said he had never chatted with his famous neighbor, who had a baby son named Jude in August with his childhood sweetheart Lauren Fryer.

Describing the overhanging branches, Mr. Green said, ‘It wasn’t a problem; I just needed them trimmed.

‘The branch from next door was overhanging the roof of my house. And as they are oak trees, particularly at this time of the year when they shed their acorns and their leaves, they block all the guttering.

‘The problem is then with it all being overflowing when it rains, and as you know, we do have some heavy rain from time to time.

‘So that was what the problem was. Just over the autumn period, really, but it’s been a growing problem over time; it’s been getting more and more.

‘I went through the function of going to the local authority, to the tree department.

‘And then somebody came and inspected it, and they said, “Yes, they needed to cut that back”, so I got approval.

‘Then they engaged a tree specialist to cut it back.

‘I haven’t had a problem with my neighbours. I don’t know them; I have never spoken to them personally.

‘I don’t know why I haven’t spoken to them. I suppose the gardens over there are quite large.

‘I know they have got a net for football in the garden.’

A council officer who visited Mr. Green’s home to see the extent of the overhanging branches recommended that permission be given for the trees to be trimmed.

The officer described the pruning in his report as being ‘in the interests of the visual amenity and landscape of this locality, plus good arboricultural practice’.