The police are investigating an iconic tree in Northern England that was felled in the night from Wednesday to Thursday. It appears that the tree was intentionally chopped down. A sixteen-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the incident.
It is still unclear whether the boy felled the tree.
The Sycamore Gap Tree was famous for its appearance in the 1991 film ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.’ It was often referred to as the Robin Hood Tree.
This tree was a sycamore, standing solitary between two hills. It was located next to Hadrian’s Wall, which was built in the second century AD under the Roman Emperor Hadrian. According to the National Trust, a British organization that maintains historical and natural sites, the tree was nearly two hundred years old.
“I’m devastated that the famous sycamore is gone,” says a police commissioner. “I’m furious because this looks like deliberate vandalism. That tree was ours. An iconic landmark in the north-east.”
Britons on social media have reacted with shock to the news. The sycamore was chosen as England’s Tree of the Year in 2016. Some passers-by had the habit of leaving decorated stones by the tree.