Update | Highways Department called for fallen banyan tree to be removed a year ago - but local residents objected

A century-old Chinese banyan tree that collapsed during one of the worst rainstorms to hit Hong Kong this year was recommended for felling more than a year ago but opposition from local residents blocked its removal, it emerged last night.

Indecision over the fate of the giant tree in Sai Ying Pun - which was uprooted and came crashing down in high winds and rain yesterday - was revealed by a local councillor and once again raises questions over the often deadly failings of the government's system of tree management.

A male newspaper vendor, 53, and a 36-year-old woman from the Philippines were in stable condition at Queen Mary Hospital last night after being injured when the 21-metre-high tree - about the height of a seven-storey block of flats - slammed into Bonham Road in Mid-Levels shortly before noon yesterday, blocking the road for hours.

Central and Western district councillor Stephen Chan Chit-kwai last night expressed anger over the way the government had handled the tree since health problems had been identified more than 12 months ago.

Chan said the Highways Department - one of nine separate government departments responsible for trees across the city - had suggested it be removed, but backed down amid opposition from residents, settling instead on a series of anti-fungal treatments.