Three council workers have tea ‘poisoned by locals angry about trees being chopped down’
Three council workers fall sick after drinking tea amid protests with Sheffield residents fighting against work to chop down 6,000 trees
COPS are probing whether three council workers had their tea poisoned by locals angry over trees being chopped down.
They are said to have been violently ill and had to take time off work.
Sheffield council is felling 6,000 trees as part of a £22billion street improvement scheme.
There have been clashes with protesters across the city since work started in 2012.
This week contractor Amey temporarily suspended operations amid concerns over staff safety.
The trio are said to have fallen ill in October.
A source said: “I spoke to one who said he had a cup of tea during his shift, finished work then became violently sick.
“He took the next day off and then discovered his two colleagues had similar symptoms.
“The worker said they felt they had been given something because the symptoms were so similar and severe so they reported it to the police.”
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South Yorkshire Police confirmed it is investigating “reports of alleged assaults on three workers who were felling trees”.
A spokeswoman said: “Officers have carried out forensic tests and enquiries are ongoing.”