NEVER FORGET OUR ROOTS

The illegal felling of the Sycamore Gap tree triggered heartbreak and outrage across the nation. Now, after two men are convicted of its 'moronic' destruction, DOMINIC BLISS examines the history behind Britain's reverence of trees

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IT'S not wise to come between British people and their woodland. A recent survey discovered that we feel closer to our trees than we do our neighbours.

For evidence of this you only have to look at the public outrage after the Sycamore Gap tree in Northumberland was illegally chopped down in September 2023. Tens of thousands of messages condemning the act were shared online in the aftermath.

Last Friday Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, were convicted of felling the beloved tree, which had stood for more than 150 years.

The National Trust, which owned it since the 1940s, said: "The needless felling of the Sycamore Gap tree shocked people around the country and overseas, demonstrating the powerful connection between people and our natural heritage.

"It was felt particularly deeply here in the North East, where the tree was an emblem of the region and the backdrop to many personal memories."

There was similar outrage last month when the owners of the Toby Carvery pub chain in North London took a chainsaw to a 500-year-old oak.

Mitchells & Butlers said: "We took necessary measures to ensure any legal requirements were met."

The Met Police later confirmed no crime had been committed. But that did little to subdue the outrage, with Mitchells & Butlers later apologising for destroying the ancient tree, which was in a park near to one of their hostelries.

One campaigner lamented: "This is a crime against nature. It's a crime against a 500-year-old being."

And that's the root of the problem: we Britons view trees not as large plants but as fellow beings. If not a nation of tree huggers, we are certainly a nation of tree lovers.