LONDON (AP) — British police on Friday made a second arrest in reference to the felling of a 300-year-old tree close to the Roman landmark of Hadrian’s Wall in northeastern England.
Hours after a 16-year-old was launched on bail, Northumbria Police stated a person in his 60s had been arrested and was being questioned in custody.
Chief Inspector Rebecca Finney-Menzies stated: “The mindless destruction of what’s undoubtedly a world-famous landmark and native treasure has rightly despatched an outpouring of shock, horror and outrage all through the North East and past.”
She added: “I hope that this second arrest reveals how critically we take this example, and our continued dedication to discovering these accountable and bringing them to justice.”
The 16-year-old boy was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of prison injury after destroying the tree in a single day.
Why anybody would need to lower down one in every of England’s most iconic timber has left individuals throughout the UK baffled and indignant.
Famend nature author Robert MacFarlane stated he was “bored to the core” to listen to the information in regards to the tree “identified and beloved by tens of millions”.
He informed BBC Radio: “I see this as a part of a piece that has a wider hostile atmosphere in direction of the residing world on this nation.” “It was a tree below which ashes had been scattered, marriages befell below it, and it was a shelter for drained walkers.”
McFarlane stated he was comforted by the widespread revulsion that adopted information of the tree being lower down and steered planting a brand new forest in its honour.
An aerial view reveals a felled sycamore tree, alongside Hadrian’s Wall, close to Hexham, northern England on September 28, 2023. One of the crucial photographed timber within the UK, which lies subsequent to the Roman-era Hadrian’s Wall in northeastern England, was “intentionally photographed”. “. “Fallen,” the native nationwide park authority stated on September 28, 2023. Native police stated that a teen had been arrested in reference to the incident. (Photograph by Ollie Scarfe/AFP) (Photograph by Ollie Scarfe/AFP through Getty Photos)
After centuries of industrialization and urbanization, Britain is without doubt one of the most deforested international locations in Europe.
The tree was one of many major landmarks alongside Hadrian’s Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Web site, constructed round 2,000 years in the past when Britain was a part of the Roman Empire to protect its northwestern borders.
For generations, passers-by have stopped to admire and {photograph} the tree at Sycamore Hole, which was made well-known when it was featured within the 1991 Kevin Costner movie “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.”
The Nationwide Belief, which has sought to guard England’s heritage and landscapes for greater than 125 years, stated it was presently working to “make the location secure, and assist workers and the neighborhood deal with the information”.
Specialists stated the tree, which was lower down close to the bottom of its trunk, may develop once more, though they warned it might by no means be the identical.
Rob Ternent, head gardener at close by Alnwick Park, stated: “It is value a attempt, however I feel livestock and wildlife would in all probability injury it too.” “It might be very tough to return it to the unique tree.”
The primary restoration shoots can start to seem within the spring, and the tree can attain about 8 ft (2.4 meters) in peak, though it is going to be bushy, Ternent stated.
“It was about 300 years outdated, so it’ll take a very long time to get again to that measurement,” he added.
A 16-year-old boy has been arrested after slicing down a world-famous tree at Hadrian’s Wall https://t.co/PVv1bthHR8
– Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) September 29, 2023