A woman from St Albans has expressed her frustration at a rail operator after workmen began felling trees on the railway line in the early hours of the morning.

Network Rail was carrying out planned tree works two night last week at around 12.30am.

Dr Hanna Danilovich, who lives in Abbots Park, near to the Midland Main Line, said: “We were not warned of any works, and for two evenings last week we woke up to large chain saws chopping down trees.

“People were literally screaming at the workers to stop, as the noise is incredible.

“With it being a hot night, there were many windows open and so many people have said they have their sleep disturbed.”

The 53-year-old added: “The company called the next day and apologised.

“The fact that the works were on so late is a different issue.

“We moved her nine years ago and know, and understand, that occasionally work needs to place in the evening.

“Like last year there was tamping works for two weeks, where contractors relayed stone and then hit them.

“At least we knew about those works and how long it would last.

“It was the not knowing that was the problem.”

Network rail said they had received multiple calls about the incident.

A handful of other residents left their houses in the middle of the night to see what the noise was, but did not manage to speak to contractors.

Residents of neighbouring roads have said they want Network Rail to consider alternatives to working between 12.45am and 5.30am which happens several times a year.

Sam Kelly, spokesperson for Network Rail, said: “Safety is our number one priority and for this reason a lot of our work is carried out while trains are not running.

“Whenever possible, we also work at times that cause the least disruption to train services and this means carrying out a lot of our improvements at night or at weekends.

“The equipment we use means some disturbance is unavoidable but we do make every effort to minimise any unnecessary noise.

“Those working on site are also briefed on working responsibly in the local community.

“We would like to apologise to residents for any inconvenience.”