Was the felling of the tree any worse than the toppling of statues, defacing of works of art, etc we've seen over the last couple of years?
The tree felling has been on the news every day for a while and no doubt having been found guilty the perpetrators will have the maximum allowable sentencing whereas the other vandals in the main got away with it.

Absolutely agree, yes it was an act of wanton, unnecessary vandalism by two nobheads but the media reaction has been quite ridiculous. They could have axed any other tree in the country and virtually no-one would have batted an eyelid. As you say, perpetrators of acts of vandalism by the likes of JSO and other numpty groups have not all been scrutinised and dealt with in such a manner.

That's the point though - they could have chopped down any other tree but they chose to go for a world famous tree, to get attention and to get a thrill. They've got the attention!!

Idiots..

might wake people up now to trees being cut down without reason. its a growth industry in my area with new companies cropping up to fulfil the local passtime. all trees are important especially if you have lived a long time looking at one and watching them change through the seasons even though they are not a tourist attraction.

Apparently it was a such an important case that the police had to get Special Branch in.

IMO a resounding YES !

They're idiots and indicative off generations of people who don't give a flying fuck. I can imagine their kids are lovely as well.

They did a root and branch investigation.

many just are ground down to get into a situation of not caring about there surrounding area or there appearance either. if others do not care or bother then why should i approach.

The pair of kunts deserve everything they get.

The bastards deserve the maximum sentence, imho!

Wether it's the tree, a statue, or a painting g being vandalised they should all be treated the same, would maybe instill a sense of respect for other people's property which doesn't seem to exist in the younger society nowadays.

Spot on, bring back zero policing and stop the bastards burning our town , and others.

Sadly, the police seem to have little time for good old fashioned policing.
A bit too much time enforcing ‘crimes’ where the only thing injured is pride or ego from the easily offended.
I can drive around town and count the ex police houses scattered across the town when the police lived in the community…they appear to travel in then out, rather like Council bosses from time to time, now they have no stake in the town….that’s the trouble nowadays.

they called all that maximising resources. thing is it has not worked but they,ll refuse to turn back the clock to an era where it did. police should be totally funded by national government, having a national police force but policed by locals who know where the problems lie.

It's a tree.

The only reason those two divvies are having the book thrown at them is because it made English Heritage loads of money at zero cost.

Just like all those old bricks between Geordie-land and sheep-shagging land.

good point there. all trees are equal. like a lot of crime a hell of a lot depends on who the person is that the crime is committed against. kill the king and your name will go down in history. kill the bloke round the corner then your name will be unheard of apart from in the local area and then it will be forgotton. both are murders like felling trees are, they are still trees.

And the local communities whose economies benefit from the Tree and the Wall? It may not matter to you, but it did, and does, to a lot of people, hence the outcry. Too many people nowadays think they can act how they want, and there should be little to no consequences. Too many people seek to excuse them. Frankly, I'll be delighted if they get the book thrown at them, if it means other selfish, ignorant scrotes think twice about their actions.

Agree as long as the book is thrown equally hard at all vandals.

I proposed to my wife at Sycamore Gap less than 1 month before it was felled. Feel very fortunate with the timing of that. For our first anniversary I got her a print of the stump looking down from above, which just so happens to be vaguely heart-shaped.

As it should be. The more you let areas get damaged with no action taken, the more they get damaged. A vicious circle.

Each case has to be looked at individually. This one is awful and should carry maximum penalty regardless of whether there are injustices elsewhere or not.

And you've hit the nail on the head, why is this case particularly bad? It's purely subjective when criminality is quite objective the rules are the rules.
Imo the vandalism of works of art and national treasures was far worse than chopping down this tree, Churchills statue being vandalised being a case in point.

It was a national treasure. It was targeted because it meant so much to so many and because it would cause so much upset. That's no ordinary case of vandalism.

Subjective indeed, I was more upset when someone keyed my new car. That was no ordinary case of vandalism for me personally.

Personally. Not collectively. But yeah, I would be hoping they were caught and the judge got the black cap out if it were my car!

Repeat after me:

It's...

...a...

...tree!

and there's the reason society is like it is.

No the real reason is that society nowadays is twisted in all the wrong ways. It's demanded that we respect diversity, inclusion, etc whilst respect for the rules, for each other, and property are ignored or broken in pursuit of the former.
My property is as valuable to me as that tree was to you, an old building or valuable work of art or statue, etc equally should be respected by others. Failure to do so should be dealt with across the board.

Two (presumably pissed-up or high as a kite) divvies cut down a tree for what they thought would be a bit of a laugh - and for doing so, they are likely to be jailed.

According to the latest widely-accepted estimates, there are around 3,040,000,000,000 trees on the planet. (Imagine six more zeros if you prefer your trillions in "old money")

Which is approximately 422 trees for every human being.

Two mongs decided to chop down one of their combined quota of 844, and thus reduced the number of trees to 3,039,999,999,999 - and are now likely to be bummed senseless in the showers of one of His Majesty's Prisons due to being born dumb as fuck.

Why? Because this is a special tree, not just a regular one.

And what exactly is special about it?

Are people cured of terminal illnesses by licking its bark, or grinding its leaves into baccy and smoking it?

Unlikely.

Does it give people visions of the Virgin Mary, Joan of Arc or Elvis?

Probably not.

And did those feet in ancient times walk on 55.0335° N 2.3733° W...???

I very much doubt it.

What is special about it is that it plays a part in generating a nice wad of cash for English Heritage. And there is where the two nob-heads made their fatal mistake. You stop some money being trousered by "The Man", and you get arse-fucked. It's the law...!!!

And forgive my lack of outrage about this, but you lot are upset about an ex-tree owned by an organisation who take your eyes out with exorbitant admission and car-parking fees - and yet whinge about paying a few bob to park at Middleton Grange, Crimdon or Seaton Carew?

There is some incongruity here gentlemen.

When is a tree not a tree? When it is a cash cow for those who profit by fleecing the gullible.

Rather than getting wound up about a pair of retards killing a tree, why not visit nearby Castle Eden Dene - where there are many thousands of trees to look at, climb on, carve your name on, lick the bark of, or even worship if you so desire.

And...and...and...and...and...(wait for it)...AND there's some FREE fucking parking too...!!!



The counsel for the preservation of common sense rests his case.

Wow that's a lot of writing. I think in a nutshell Kenny Bottles feels that as he doesn't care, nobody should.

Conversely, on many subjects some believe that because they care everyone should.
I'll be quite honest, I'd never heard of the Sycamore Gap Tree until it made the news for being transformed into the Sycamore Gap Stump.

Not quite Mr Imp. I don't understand why anyone cares at all, so I concocted what I hoped would be a humourous read for my Bunkerite brethren and would lighten the mood a bit.

You are all free men, and are well entitled to boil your blood to the point of achieving a throbbing sensation in your temples over two smackrats paying homage to Jack and his beanstalk.

It seems extremely trivial to me, but if you need a lie down and a cold compress on your forehead after hearing about wanton acts of tree abuse then so be it.

I could lend you some statins and a few beta-blockers if you're worried about your heart throwing a wobbler if they get a suspended sentence...

Well that's a bit better. Much more in a nutshell
Still sounds like you're saying the same thing though.

Sounds like it's bothering you more than me though judging by war and peace up there

I'm only bothered about your health mate.

I daren't imagine the state you'll be in if their solicitor gets them off with community service.

Anno. You said before. Good craic mate.

same here. as i have previously said all trees are equal and some will have greater memories to some than one with national publicity behind it. people plant them to celebrate this and that but if felled by dickhead or councils little is ever heard about it. what kenny wrote is spot on for me.

Only this bunker could make such a meal out of two vandalising twats. Zero tolerance for any such shit!

I think they're objecting because sycamores are not a native species, they're immigrants from central Europe. If its was an Oak there would be hell on.

Could be right there.

that sums a lot of todays world. if somebody keyed the car who has any celeb status then thats front page news. yours means sod all only to you. however the crime is just the same.

This didn’t get much publicity, the oak tree was 500 years old ?
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cewgypewepno

It got lots of publicity.

Passed that particular tree many times, never knew it was ‘special’….just tree in a location adjoining the Roman wall.
It should have been removed years ago for the damage it was doing to the wall….appearing on some media ‘masterpiece’ does not give it any divine powers.
If it had been cut down several feet away from the wall, no one would have given a toss in the big picture of things and done by authorised people seen as maintenance.

However we are dealing with brain dead vandalism elevated to a cause celebre by the media…..sense will fly out the window.
.

No trial by jury nor even a prosecution,no different from the sycamore tree,

Enfield Council's leader, Ergin Erbil, previously said they were treating the matter as criminal damage and had reported it to the police.
The Met Police confirmed it had received a report from the council, but it is understood the force believes there is no evidence of criminality

Cheers for that Jamie, I'll revise the figures.

It appears that we now have only 3,039,999,999,998 trees left.

I've sent an e-mail to David Attenborough.

It’s tree discrimination

I think we agree. It did get publicity, on TV on the internet etc. My daughter mentioned it to me a couple of times, but yes - nothing happened because this tree wasn't a celebreTREE.

special branch are too busy. sorry.

It was allover the News at the time.