TREE surgeons have been battling the winds and icy roads as they try to cope with their busiest couple of days in decades.

With hundreds of trees and branches falling due to the strong winds and snow, those in the trade say they have been inundated with calls.

They have had to prioritise trees blocking roads and those posing a danger to life.

Dave Brouard, who has been in the business for 23 years, received 22 calls between 6 and 7.30pm on Monday.  He had taken many other calls since then.

Ben Wakefield Tree Services manager Liam Smyth described the past two days as ‘absolutely manic’.

Arborcraft Ltd director Colin Dodd had also been inundated with calls but was having difficulty getting to jobs because of the snow.