Vandals who felled the Sycamore Gap tree damaged Hadrian's Wall, investigators say

Vandals who felled the famous Sycamore Gap tree caused damage to Hadrian’s Wall, investigators have found.

The Unesco world heritage site which stretches 73 miles across Northern England has sustained damage as a result of the Sycamore Gap tree falling over it.

A former lumberjack and a 16-year-old boy were arrested and released on bail by police on suspicion of criminal damage after the tree 15 miles west of Hexham, Northumberland, was felled overnight last Wednesday.

Detectives are now looking at charges for felling the tree without consent and potentially for causing damage to a heritage site – Hadrian’s Wall – which could bring harsher sentences.

According to The Times, the findings came after preservation body Historic England sent a heritage crime specialist to assess the scene.

Vandals who felled the famous Sycamore Gap tree caused damage to Hadrian’s Wall (pictured), investigators have found

The iconic tree (pictured), which is believed to be 300 years old, was found cut down

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Detectives are now looking at charges for felling the tree without consent and potentially for causing damage to a heritage site

A spokesman said that the preliminary investigation found the 1,900-year-old wall, which is one of the first British sites to be listed as a Unesco world heritage site, had sustained ‘minor damage’.

She said a full archaeological evaluation is yet to be carried out, with the tree still not removed from the scene.

She added: ‘We appreciate how strongly people feel about the loss of the tree, and its impact on this special historic landscape, and will continue to work closely with others as this progresses.’

Northumbria Police met with representatives from Historic England, the National Trust, Northumberland National Park Authority, and Forestry England this week in relation to the investigation.

Superintendent Andy Huddleston, who heads the National Rural Crime Unit which was formed this year, said such incidents were ‘exceptionally rare’ and that officers had to draw on the expertise of conservation and wildlife groups.

He said: ‘The lack of witnesses and CCTV is also a challenge when dealing with rural crime, which can make it much harder to investigate than urban crime.

‘I have every confidence though that Northumbria Police will find the culprit of this callous crime.’