Some idiot has felled Sycamore Gap tree

[Houseplanter]

I mean why. Why would someone do that.

What an absolutely awful thing to do.

@blacksax it’s pretty rural, there are chainsaws a plenty on farms.

So sad.

God people make me angry. If only the tree had landed on them.

So sad reading this and an icon of the North.

Surely they can put a substantial tree back in its place .

It was a nasty thing to do

This has had me in tears and angry at the same time. Irreplaceable. Crime against wildlife and all the humans it meant something to. About time there were proper sentences for such acts. Disgusting.

Not interested in a trial first?

I'll be amazed if he's the culprit. He's probably got some information or minor involvement but a 16yo didnt do that by themselves.

During the night?

Another thread:
Sycamore Gap - tree has been felled! | Mumsnet

No, you can't just transplant trees that big.

It was irreplaceable.

It doesn't surprise me that a 16 yo in that neck of the woods would have access to a chainsaw and the knowledge of how to fell a tree. Kids who grow up on farms (of which there are loads here) learn stuff with their parents.

I imagine this was supposed to be a prank, carried out by someone lacking the maturity to understand the enormity of their stupid actions.

I feel sorry for the parents. They're probably absolutely mortified and If his name gets out their lives will most likely be made a misery.

Id be amazed if a lone 16 year old did that by himself, it looks like a very skilled job

Possibly he has knowledge or was involved in some way but not solely responsible ino

I’ve been seething about it all day. Dh and I were lucky enough to see it last year and it was completely spectacular.

I just can’t imagine for the life of me WHY a person would do such a thing?

So bloody upsetting . Why do we have so many wankers in the UK ! 😡

'It's like stealing joy' said a woman on the BBC website

What a little shit

They have arrested a 16 year old male.

I would be surprised if he had acted alone as it's the kind of stunt/dare that would require others participating or there as an audience.

If it was him and he is found guilty I hope he is tried as an adult.

It's a truly despicable act of wanton destruction.

www.instagram.com/reel/Cw3YFQjofrB/?igshid=NzZhOTFlYzFmZQ==

There is an emotionally dead, terminally stupid, alarmingly large (and growing) section of society who think this sort of thing is a laugh, because they lack the brains and understanding of the world to comprehend why a tree like that is important and can't even see its beauty. They would mock people who do appreciate it. I fucking hate stupid people.

I bet they filmed it and it will appear on fucking TikTok for all the other numbskulls to watch.

This in spades

I'm still in disbelief and shock. Such a horrible pointless thing to do. As a family we've all visited it so many times growing up, so beautiful during each season. We've met so many lovely tourists from around the world who came to visit. We live in a Northumberland village, not near by though, and it's all everyone has been talking about at work, everyone's felt saddened. It's just so pointless.

Oh that's all right then

That’s the problem nowadays. They think a lot of the moors fires around here are lit by people wanting to see the reaction. 😞

There are sycamores close to my house. The seeds sprout like weeds in my garden - within a season it's near impossible to dig up their roots. In a specialist greenhouse they'll sprout even more efficiently, so no problem at all in replacing the vandalised tree from its own seeds. It'll take 100 years, though.

Ah problem solved then!

Well the problem has been solved, randomly @MollyMumkma revived an old thread on the day it was in the news that they have successfully grown new shoots like it was her own Idea

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68497720