A group of street mime performance artists led a silent vigil to protest against the felling of a beloved 123-year-old tree.

Dressed in red cloaks and wearing white makeup, members of environmental group, the Red Rebels, descended on Stroud Green in Haringey, north London,

where the future of a plane tree hangs in the balance.

Campaigners have been trying to prevent the felling of the tree since the council announced its plans to cut it down last April.

The council feared it could face paying £1million if it remained standing, as insurance companies Allianz and Aviva claimed that it was causing subsidence to two nearby homes.

But the owner of one of the homes launched a judicial review, claiming the insurers didn't want to pay for underpinning his home so had taken the cheap option of forcing the council into chopping it down.

At the March 16 hearing, the judge was about to approve the council's order to stop protests when homeowner Andrew Brenner launched his own last-minute legal bid to stop the council from chopping down the tree.

However, Mr Brenner’s attempt ended up being in vain, with judge Sir Roy Cranston dismissing the judicial review into the council’s actions on March 29.

He said that Haringey Council had not acted unlawfully in relation to the tree.

While the insurance companies blame the tree for causing the subsidence to the homes, Mr Brenner believes that the houses need underpinning, which the firms are trying to avoid.

Mr Brenner said he was "saddened", for had the judgment gone in his favour, it would have exposed "the balance of power" that insurance companies have over householders, councils, and communities."

Mr Brenner has been trying to get Aviva to underpin his home since 2014 and outlined the possible solutions when a tree is thought to be causing subsidence.

He asked: "Do you underpin the house with a root barrier that allows you to keep the tree and the house? Or do you take out the tree and try to avoid doing all the work on the house?"

"We don't value trees so that's the easy option and the councils are weak compared to the insurers."

He added: "The fundamental problem is that insurers are not helping householders who have these problems and they are using the tree and the council as a way of saving themselves money at the expense of everybody else, including the council, including householders, and including the community."

"All of that is tied up and the balance of power is really uneven. I can't afford what the insurers can afford in terms of legal costs."

"We're going to have to keep fighting. It's not over."

In 2017, Mr Brenner filed a complaint through the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which said the house could be underpinned without removing the tree, but Aviva did not do this.

The High Court heard a further complaint to the FOS last year had been "delayed" as insurance companies did not submit information in time for the court hearings regarding Haringey’s bid to stop protesters."

Haringey’s barrister Nicholas Grundy told the High Court the council’s legal team had advised the report was "irrelevant"."

Mr Brenner fears felling the tree could make his structural problems worse.

Without roots taking up water, the clay soil could expand in a process known as heave - the opposite of subsidence – causing further damage.

He claimed the council said it does not follow up after trees are removed, and that warnings about heave were not even discussed in court.

He added: "Because the council doesn't follow it up and the insurers don't chase them about heave, neither are pursued when the house has further problems. All that is hidden."

"We are now forced to wait to see if the house is affected by heave before the insurance company will act."

Mr Brenner has lodged an appeal, but if it is not accepted the council can chop the tree down.

The Red Rebels staged a mournful dance around the tree, after which residents told stories and sang songs.

The group is a performative activist arts group that was formed as a response to the global environmental crisis.

Jane Leggett, from activists trying to save the tree, Haringey Tree Protectors, said taking the tree down would not solve the subsidence problem.

She claimed that the real cause was not the tree but the climate crisis creating hotter summers, leading clay soils to dry and crack, allowing roots to push through without a root barrier in place.

She added: "This is now the cause of subsidence, not tree roots."

Another HTP member, Sarah Montgomery, said: "I've been involved in protecting this particular tree since last April when I took part in many two-hour shifts sitting at the base."

"I learnt about insurance companies, subsidence, clay soil and Haringey's attitude towards trees."

"They say they only fell trees that are dead or dying and that's just not true."

Red Rebel 'Red Kite', a zoologist, said: "Trees take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. If you chop down our trees there will be high emissions and carbon dioxide on our streets, fewer canopies that protect us from sunburn and provide shelter in harsh weather conditions."

Katy Treverton, who was part of a failed bid to save an oak tree in Rochford, Essex, also visited the tree after learning about the campaign from Facebook groups.

She said: "All this is very sad. Communities know what is right for the community. They know how important the mature trees are and they are taking action to protect them."

"They are not listened to by local councils, which is so frustrating. But the community here, same as Rochford, have really good groups who are aware of the issues who will take up with other groups to protect these trees."

A Haringey Council spokesperson said: "We will not be making any comment until the legal proceedings are concluded."

The council went to court in December for an injunction to stop the protests.

However, the hearing was adjourned until March 16 when the judge became aware of a Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) report due after Mr Brenner, the owner of one of the homes affected, raised concerns that the felling was not necessary.

That report has still not been published.

Three days before the hearing, under the cover of night, Haringey Council took possession of the tree amid disputed claims that activists were already occupying it.

A spokesperson for Aviva said: "It is not appropriate to comment as there are ongoing legal proceedings relating to this matter."

And a spokesperson from Allianz added: "This is a complex and ongoing case and we await the decision of the court. Sustainability is a business priority for Allianz and we’ve not taken any decisions lightly. "

"We’ve been diligent in our investigations to find the best solution to solve the subsidence problem and are working closely with industry experts and the Financial Ombudsman Service."

Crawford & Co was contacted to make a comment.