HAHAHA!!! I can tell you we all respect the green lane conduct and do not condone disrespectful and illegal behaviour when on rights of way. However, as rights of way with vehicular access have the same rules as highways, the council has the responsibility to maintain these RofWs, and should have a minimum width of 2.75m. IIRC, if they do not comply, you are legally entitled to clear the right of way for through passage.
The route up to that point was clear, but up long steep ascent. Reversing back down would be very dangerous and could potentially damage more trees and vehicles. Further past this tree were more obstructions, so to prevent further risk to vehicles and trees, we made a conservative decision and cleared a path to enable us to access a place for everyone to turn around and go back the way we came. If we WERE going to be reckless off roaders, we would have cut down further trees and carried on up the rest of the lane!