A pub is offering £1,500 to anyone who provides vital information to police about a world-famous tree that was mysteriously felled in Northumberland.
The Sycamore Gap tree – made famous when it featured in Kevin Costner’s 1991 version of Robin Hood – was chopped down in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Police are calling it an act of vandalism and have arrested a 16-year-old boy on suspicion of criminal damage – he has since been released on bail.
A pub close to where the tree was growing, next to Hadrian’s Wall, is now offering a hefty sum of cash to informants.
Even though new shoots are expected to grow from the world-famous tree, which is thought to be around 300 years old, experts say it won’t ever be the same again.
The Twice Brewed Inn in Northumberland, the closest pub to one of the most popular parts of Hadrian’s Wall, said everyone at the pub is ‘devastated’ over the news about the tree.
The pub brews its own pale ale called Sycamore Gap and has a bottle with its picture on.
There are also photos of the beloved tree peppered through the pub and on-site hotel, according to Teeside Live.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the pub said: ‘Everyone at The Twice Brewed Inn is devastated by the senseless felling of the beloved Sycamore Gap tree.
‘This iconic landmark is woven throughout The Twice Brewed – from our logo to our sister Brewery’s award-winning ale – and we are truly appalled by its destruction.
‘We are offering a £1,500 bar tab as a reward to the person who provides information to Northumbria Police that leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for destroying such a precious beacon of natural beauty on Hadrian’s Wall.’
National Trust general manager Andrew Poad told BBC Breakfast the tree stump was ‘healthy’ and staff might be able to coppice the tree, a technique allowing new shoots to grow from the base of a trunk.
Mr Poad said: ‘It’s a very healthy tree, we can see that now, because of the condition of the stump, it may well regrow a coppice from the stump, and if we could nurture that then that might be one of the best outcomes, and then we keep the tree.’
Rob Ternent, head gardener at The Alnwick Garden, a pub in Northumberland, said the tree will start growing again but ‘won’t ever be the same shape or as good of a tree as it was’.
He told the PA news agency: ‘It’s worth a try but I think livestock and wildlife will potentially damage it as well. It’ll be very difficult to get it back to the original tree.
‘The growing season’s coming to an end now but by spring next year it will have some life in it. It’ll probably be about eight foot tall, but it’ll be lots of singular branches, more bushy.
‘It was about 300 years old so it’ll take a long time to get back to that size. It’s a massive shame.’
The Sycamore Gap tree was made famous in a key scene in Kevin Costner’s 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves and is one of the most photographed trees in the country.
Superintendent Kevin Waring, of Northumbria Police, said on Thursday: ‘This is a world-renowned landmark and the events of today have caused significant shock, sadness and anger throughout the local community and beyond.
‘An investigation was immediately launched following this vandalism, and this afternoon we have arrested one suspect in connection with our enquiries. Given our investigation remains at a very early stage, we are keeping an open mind.
‘I am appealing to the public for information to assist us – if you have seen or heard anything suspicious that may be of interest to us, please let us know. Any information – no matter how small or insignificant you think it may be – could prove absolutely crucial to our enquiries.’
It’s believed the well-known tree, which was cared for by Northumberland National Park Authority and the National Trust, was around 300 years old.
The National Trust said it was ‘shocked and saddened’ to confirm that the ‘iconic’ tree had been cut down overnight after pictures emerged on Thursday morning of it lying on its side near the ancient Roman wall, which is a Unesco World Heritage site.
Walkers’ groups who came across the felled tree were upset and angry.
Alison Hawkins, who was one of the first people to see the tree had been felled on Thursday morning, told the PA news agency: ‘It was a proper shock. It’s basically the iconic picture that everyone wants to see.’
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