Sir David Attenborough has joined furious residents in rallying against a hated cyclepath.

The broadcaster was written to by an 11-year-old boy who opposed the plans to cut down 26 trees on Clifford Bridge Road in Coventry as part of the scheme.

The plans brought forward to the Labour-run council were part of plans to complete a £12million to connect the city centre with with University Hospital Coventry and most of it has already been built.

Furious residents started a petition against the plans which attracted 2,324 signatures in a bid to stop this but also launched a fundraiser to gather monies to hire a solicitor to challenge the decisions at the High Court.

Rueben, 11, said: 'They've been there for a long, long time. It would be a shame to see them go'.

To his surprise, he received a handwritten reply, according to the BBC, with the veteran broadcaster saying: 'I can well understand your reaction on hearing of the council's plan to fell the trees you describe.'

He suggested the boy get in touch with Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, as 'they may be able to advise you on how to organise a protest' before wishing him well and signing his name.

On Thursday, the High Court hearing rejected the resident's arguments and allowed for the plans to go ahead. 

Clifford Bridge Road is a busy single lane and central marking leaves room for ambulances to get through the traffic should the need arise but residents say this will no longer be possible if works go ahead.

The half-mile stretch of road with the trees has semi-detached houses going down a gentle hill with drives that lead onto a wide pavement. 

It is this pavement, where the trees sit, that the council have decided to turn into a cycle route to complete a run from the city centre to the hospital.

Just about every one of the 187 homes on Clifford Bridge Road in Coventry has a 'Save Our Trees' sticker in their window and the trees themselves have been turned into works of art.

Each one has been assigned a celebrity with names like 'Elm-ton John' or 'Tree-sa May' along with the words: 'Coventry City Council are planning to execute me and my friends to make way for a cycle-path. Please inform your friends and family to raise awareness of our imminent demise!!#SaveTheTrees.'

Other trees have models of humans hugging them or teddy bears lodged in their branches.

Debbie Raishbrook, who lives at the foot of the hill, summed up many of the complaints: 'No one is against clean air, especially here where the road is so busy but quite apart from the trees their plans make no sense.

'The road will be reduced in width so ambulances will struggle to get through and we're on a hill so cycles will go fast. A few years ago a little boy was knocked over by a bike on the pavement here and if they are on electric ones now the speed will be even greater.

'Most of the houses have drives so people will be backing out across this cycle lane and if anything happens it will always be the driver at fault because they are not insured.'

Compounding the frustration is the fact that the area backs onto the River Sowe and a great swathe of open land with paths which lead to the hospital.

Using this route would not only be more pleasant due to the lack of any traffic but also more direct, residents say.

'The Council just needed to maintain the paths and put it there,' added Ms Raishbrook, 'They used to have prisoners doing it but now that doesn't happen, it's down to volunteers.'

Residents all say that their campaign, conducted over several years since the plan was first mooted, has failed to change the council's mind.

Surveyor Anthony Walsh, 63, said: 'We are all opposed. We'll lose parking space which we can't afford to do because most houses have two or three cars due to children not being able to afford homes.

'The bikes will fly down here as people are backing off their drives. It is a recipe for disaster but the Council just don't listen. 

'They have their own agenda and there are millions of pounds involved.'

Kevin Kane, 60, a semi-retired engineer as well as a keen cyclist, said: 'To me it is perverse to be doing something for the environment by chopping down trees that have been here for over 100 years. 

'They are beautiful when they blossom into their whites and pinks. It gives the whole road a lift.

'And it's so unnecessary. There is a path they could have followed along the river leading more directly to the hospital. Apparently it was too costly.

'The other issue is health and safety. If I wipe a cyclist out when I back out of my drive, I'll have to live with that for the rest of my life. 

'We are all appalled that the city council haven't taken our concerns seriously. Sadly it is so typical of councils today.'

Kingsley Archer, 75, said: 'They passed it by five votes to four and one councillor who said he was speaking up for us voted for it because he was confused. The whole thing is a joke.

'This is the main road to the hospital. It will cause danger because ambulances won't be able to get through the traffic due to the road being narrowed and it will cause danger to anyone who uses it because of the cars leaving the driveways.

'The main focus has been the trees but there are so many other reasons too. The Council just throw out words like 'Ash dieback'. They think we're fools.'

Sital Gill, 80, a retired electrician, said: 'A cycle lane is just not viable here because it is too narrow and who is really going to use it? I don't see anyone using the cycle lane they've already got. It's just made it harder for ambulances.'

Perhaps the most infuriating aspect of the whole saga is the widely-held view that it is all for nothing - the trees will be gone and barely anyone will use the cycle lane.

Pensioner Rita Simpson, 82, said: 'I'm not happy. It will make the road narrower and there are ambulances coming down here several times a day. I have no idea why the Council would do it and I hope we can stop it.' 

Leslie Brain, 76, added: 'When we first had meetings with planners, they seemed most surprised to hear that this is a trauma route leading to the hospital where ambulances regularly go.

'They just want this cycle route at any cost, no matter that no-one will use it, no matter that no-one wants it. It's madness. We've seen videos of the bike sheds at the hospital and they are empty.'

A Coventry City Council spokeswoman said: 'Following the conclusion of the legal challenge, we are now able to start work. 

'This means the Binley cycleway will be completed – with a full route between the city centre and the hospital.'