Great Britain
Famous tree felled: suspect released on bail
The illegally felled Sycamore Tree on Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland. photo
© Owen Humphreys/PA Wire/dpa
According to reports, it was said to be more than 400 years old – the tree even made it into the Hollywood classic “Robin Hood – King of Thieves”. Until a teenager felled the sycamore maple tree.
In the case of the well-known sycamore tree in northern England, which was recently illegally felled, the suspected 16-year-old is on the scene Released on bail. Northumbria Police announced this on Friday. The teenager had been arrested the day before on suspicion of property damage after the tree known from the film “Robin Hood – King of Thieves” was felled overnight. The investigations are therefore ongoing.
The incident caused great consternation in Great Britain. The National Trust, the organization responsible for maintaining Hadrian’s Wall, said it was “shocked and saddened”. The tree was reportedly over 400 years old. According to the nature conservation organization Woodland Trust, the tree could sprout again. However, it will probably take 150 to 200 years until a similar growth is achieved, an expert told the BBC.
Pictures showed that the mighty tree had been cut off with a clean cut just above the ground. The tree stood in a depression – the so-called Sycamore Gap – and was a popular photo motif. Now the trunk lay stretched over Hadrian’s Wall. The wall was built by the Romans in the second century AD to protect against attacks from the north and to control trade routes. Remains run through the hilly landscape near the English-Scottish border and are a popular hiking destination.