No trees will be chopped down along the banks of the canal in Slough, a gas company has said – after neighbours prepared to fight to save them.

Friends of Slough Canal raised the alarm over potential plans by the Cadent gas distribution company to remove some old oaks along the Slough Arm of the Grand Union Canal.

They said the plans related to an existing gas pipe beneath the towpath between Langley Park Road and Hollow Hill Lane. Cadent has now confirmed it did consider removing trees but decided ‘no felling of trees is required’ and a section of pipe will be decommissioned instead.

Cadent told the Observer it considered removing the trees as they could pose a threat to the pipe should one of them fall over.

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The spokesperson said: “We have a responsibility to manage and maintain the gas network in this area. Part of this work means regular inspections of what is above the gas pipes.

“We have been monitoring the gas pipe close to Slough Canal and had identified a potential safety issue with the large trees on a steep embankment.

“As part of the options, we looked at removing some of the trees to reduce the risk of a fallen tree that may damage the gas pipe and also whether we could decommission part of the gas network.”

But the spokesperson said that ‘after further investigations’ the firm decided to decommission a 500 metre section of the pipe instead.

They added that gas supply to the area would not be disrupted, but some shrubs near the pipe might still need to be removed to allow engineers to get to the pipe.

The spokesperson said: “Over the next few weeks our engineers will be in the area to complete this work.

“This will mean some shrub clearance, to be able to gain access to the gas pipe but this will be kept to a minimum and no trees will be felled.”

The decision comes after Friends of Slough Canal launched an e-petition in defence of the trees, having caught wind of the plans.

The group said that some of the oaks that were at threat could be as much as 250 years old, and that their felling could have harmed amphibians, reptiles, bats and a rare species of butterfly.

They also said the felling could have affected residents of longboats on the canal, as the trees acted to dampen sound from nearby rail line and industrial sites.