Caterpillars

Many years ago when we lived in essex we were troubled by caterpillars of a moth that built their nests in webbing like this just prior to winter. They were horrid. If you came into contact with them they caused wheals on the skin and irritated eyes as they dropped their hair . I saw this several weeks ago and the tree was just covered in the webbing. Today it is still bad. It was recommended that you cut the affected area off , carefully, and burnt it.
Not a good picture as my thumb got in the way on my iPad but you get the idea of the nest.