An ancient oak tree thought to be more than 400 years old has been cut down in what has been called a “depressing” and “devastating” crime in north London.
The remains of the trunk, surrounded by its severed branches, were discovered by council workers on 3 April in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield.
Adam Cormack, head of campaigning at the Woodland Trust, which supports legal protections for the country’s oldest and most important trees, said: “This depressing crime is a reminder to all of us that not every ancient tree is in a safe place.
“It is very unusual to see the felling of an oak tree of this size and age.”
The tree, which had a girth of 6.1 metres, was thought to be in the top 100 of London’s 600,000 oak trees in terms of its size.
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The incident has been reported to the Metropolitan Police and the council has put an emergency preservation order in place on the base of the stump.
Ergin Erbil, leader of Enfield Council, said: “We are treating the matter as criminal damage and have reported it to the police.
“We’ve now placed a legal protection (Tree Preservation Order) on the tree and are looking at ways to help it grow back.”
On Monday, the Tree Council and Forest Research published a report calling for a “robust and effective system” to protect England’s most important trees following the Sycamore Gap tree felling in September 2023.
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The trial of the two men, charged in connection with the felling, is due to take place later this month at Newcastle Crown Court.
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Ed Allnut, Enfield resident and secretary of the Guardians of Whitewebbs group said: “The tree belonged to Enfield and to our national heritage. I am personally devastated.
“We want answers, and we want guarantees the other trees here are being protected properly.”
Oak trees are valuable for UK wildlife, supporting thousands of species as well as capturing carbon from the atmosphere.
