Żabbar mayor Dominic Agius was “upset” by the extensive pruning of two trees in the town and will be speaking to the contractor to fix the damage.

The trees were pruned to allow a statue of the Virgin Mary in St James Square to be seen clearly.

“The contractor was acting with our permission but the people were telling him to prune the trees more so that the statue could be seen,” Mr Agius said. “But we did not like it, so now he has to fix the situation. I asked residents if they liked it and they said they liked the trees just as they are – you’d be amazed,” he added.

Asked how it would be fixed, Mr Agius explained that the trees would be pruned further. “If it were for the residents, we would just chop those trees away,” Mr Agius said.

The trees in the square, which is the site of ground fireworks and various statues, are pruned every year to coincide with the village feast.

Wilson Mifsud, who carried out the works, said the band club committee had approached him complaining the statue of the Virgin Mary in the square was not visible and that the size of the trees was hindering enthusiasts from setting up scaffolding.

“It’s true, it looks ugly right now but in six weeks’ time it will all grow back. Those trees need some good pruning anyway. They had grown too much,” Mr Mifsud said.