A 16-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage in connection with the felling of the 300-year-old Sycamore Gap tree in the north of England.
Officers arrested the teenager amid an outpouring of sadness over the destruction of the landmark, which has been a feature of the site at Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland for hundreds of years. The boy is in custody and assisting officers with their inquiries, Northumbria police said on Thursday.
Locals and national park authorities said they were “struggling to see the logic” in the destruction of a sycamore which had long become “part of this area’s DNA” and had gone through thousands of changes of seasons.
The tree, believed to have been about 300 years old, was made famous when it appeared in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner.
Make him replant sycamore trees, then work for the forest druids/nearest national park during summer vacations. His spirit sounds troubled.
The tree, believed to have been about 300 years old
Well at least now they can count the rings and know for sure
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There is no logic, only destruction.
Without detailed knowledge about tree logging, that looks to be too clean cut, when working in a storm.
From the article:
“Locals said they heard nothing during the night due to high winds from Storm Agnes – and woke to find the tree split from its stump.”
I would not call that a “split”.
You also need some heavy gear to fell that kind of tree, the dia of sycamore tree trunk is wide. The blade would stuck in the saw line due to the inclination of the tree. Also you would need a vehicle to get all gear there plus extra fuel if required.
Think middle of night, during a storm, also you don’t need a storm to be windy there.
Really 16 year old only?
Just look at that tree:
That even looks too good to be real. Probably one of the best places for such a tree to grow.How do you just decide, “Yep, let’s cut it down!” here? Did he take drugs? Like, I mean, all of them.
Education. Please educate your kids.
This isn’t education, this is mental illness
The punishment should be that he becomes Johnny Appleseed and has to spend the rest of his life crossing the country planting trees
Punish the kid by forcing him to plant 300 new sycamore saplings but using a toothpick instead of a shovel.
Punish him by making him watch Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves 300 times.
Insane question, could the tree be saved by splicing it back into the trunk? Like you can do with small trees?
Maybe replacing it from a cutting would be easier?
Maybe easier, but much more time consuming (300 years give or take)
I am guessing that the most cost-effective option is just replacing the tree, which is probably what they will most likely do. But I hope they take another tack and find a way to restore it.
Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s an easy proposition - or perhaps even possible - to do with a fuck-off huge 300-year-old tree.
