The four huge evergreens, which were the full height of the three-storey hotel, were removed from the front of Dunnikier House Hotel two weeks ago, amid claims that they were too badly damaged to be saved.

However locals say that although this could have been true for two of them, the other two were perfectly healthy specimens which may have been part of the original collection brought in by the Oswald family who built the house.

The Council's woodlands officer Mark Horsburgh dismissed the information and said the trees – Chamae Cyparis – were "nowhere near 100 years old" and had not been part of the original collection, but had been added at a "later date."

Ann Watters, chairman of Kirkcaldy Civic Society, and former councillor for the area, pledged to look into the circumstances of the trees being removed.

"Two of the trees at least were on council land and if they were healthy then they should not have been taken down," she said.

"I will get in touch with the parks department to see what has happened here. Questions have to be asked."

Ken Miller of the Kirkcaldy North Community Council said that although he had been unaware of the situation, he would bring it up at a forthcoming meeting.

"If there was a legitimate safety reason for them being taken down then that is fair enough, but if it turns out that they were only removed for cosmetic reasons then that should not have been allowed," he said.

A spokesman for Dunnikier House Hotel said they had contacted the Council's parks department to see about having the trees trimmed back because they were "unruly and straggly looking."

• To read the full story pick up your copy of the Fife Free Press first thing Thursday morning.