bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

A 16-year-old boy was arrested after one of Britain’s most photographed trees was found felled next to the Hadrian’s Wall Unesco World Heritage site in northeast England, prompting outrage and grief.
The Sycamore Gap tree, which has stood for more than 200 years in the Northumberland National Park, was found fallen after overnight storms.
Its stump was seen with white paint marks and appeared cleanly cut, as if by a chainsaw.
The crown of the tree lay partly on the ancient Roman fortification, which stretches 118km (73 miles) from coast to coast.

It was also known as the “Robin Hood Tree” after featuring in Kevin Costner’s 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
Northumbria Police, which is probing the incident, said that the teenager was arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage.
Storms topple California’s iconic tunnel tree
Superintendent Kevin Waring said “the events of today have caused significant shock, sadness and anger throughout the local community and beyond”.
“Given our investigation remains at a very early stage, we are keeping an open mind,” he added.
The sycamore, which won the Woodland Trust’s Tree of the Year in 2016, is a key attraction that has been photographed by millions of visitors over the years.
Tony Gates, chief executive of the Northumberland National Park Authority which manages the surrounding countryside, said it appeared the tree had been “deliberately felled”.
“It’s really sad that someone has taken it upon themselves to do what is really a terrible act of vandalism,” he said at the scene.
“We’re not able at this stage to speculate on (by) who, or why this has taken place.”
Gates said he and volunteers at the national park felt “a real sense of loss” and that many people had been in tears at the news, which prompted a flood of social media messages expressing shock.
“This will have meant a lot to people. People will have been proposed to here, they will have held significant family occasions here,” he added. “Some people may have scattered the ashes of loved ones here. For someone to feel that they can do this to such a site, I just find really hard to comprehend.”

Hadrian’s Wall is an international landmark. Begun in 122 AD during the reign of emperor Hadrian, it marked the boundary between Roman Britannia and unconquered Caledonia to the north.
Thousands of soldiers and many of their families lived along the wall, leaving behind structures and items that have given archaeologists a deep insight into Roman life in the windswept northern limits of their empire.
Visitors had been told to stay away from the site, which was cordoned off with blue and white police tape.
Walkers on the popular cross-country route expressed disbelief at the loss of the photogenic landmark, which had become a symbol of the region.
“Sycamore Gap was a place of happy and moving memories for millions of people, and a symbol of home for people around the world,” said Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness, calling it a “senseless crime”.
The chief executive of the Arboricultural Association, John Parker, told The Times the outpouring of shock and anger was a reminder of the cultural importance of trees to people.
But Jack Taylor, a campaigner with the Woodland Trust, said many ancient species had no legal protection.


Can Pop Mart turn viral hits into lasting icons? Molly and Labubu offer the answer

Western media criticism of the Jimmy Lai case verdict needs a fact check

Who is Oli Higginson, the actor who plays footman John in Bridgerton?

China’s canal link to Southeast Asia; Malaysia’s ‘illegal’ temple row: SCMP’s 7 highlights

Britain

UK teen arrested after famous ‘Robin Hood Tree’ cut down at Hadrian’s Wall

News about the tree was met with dismay and outrage. Photo: Reuters

The Sycamore Gap tree, as seen in June. Photo: AFP

The felled Sycamore Gap tree, on Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland. Photo: Reuters

UK tourist who scratched girlfriend’s name into Colosseum says he didn’t know it was so old

A tourist holding keys carves on the wall of the Colosseum in Rome in June. Photo: Ryan Lutz via Reuters

The Colosseum in Rome, which is around 2,000 years old, is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy. Photo: dpa

Russian tourist deported from Bali over nude photo on sacred tree

Russian tourist Luiza Kosykh says she did not know that the tree was sacred. Luiza Kosykh via Instagram

Climate activists chop top off official Christmas tree in historic Berlin location

Last Generation activists cut the top off a Christmas tree at Brandenburg Gate, in Berlin, Germany. Photo: Reuters

News

World

Europe

Beloved Sycamore Gap tree, which featured in 1991 Kevin Costner film Robin Hood, was believed to be hundreds of years old
The ‘English Tree of the Year’ was cut down near the base of its trunk, with the rest of it lying on its side


The beloved Sycamore Gap tree, which featured in a 1991 Kevin Costner film, was believed to be hundreds of years old.
