LONDON: One of the UK’s most photographed trees, located next to the Roman-era Hadrian’s Wall in northeast England, has been “deliberately felled,” the authority responsible for the local National Park said on Thursday.

“Northumberland National Park Authority can confirm that sadly, the famous tree at Sycamore Gap has come down overnight,” it said in a statement.

“We have reason to believe it has been deliberately felled.

“We are working with the relevant agencies and partners with an interest in this iconic North East landmark and will issue more details once they are known.” The tree was notable not only for being next to the ancient wall, but also for its cinematic setting — standing alone in a dramatic dip — and featured in Kevin Costner’s 1991 blockbuster film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

Pictures posted on social media show the sycamore, which won the Woodland Trust’s Tree of the Year in 2016, reduced to a short stump, with the rest of the tree dumped on the wall.

Northumbria Police said they had launched an investigation and that they were trying to establish if a criminal offence had occurred.

Local MP Mary Foy called it “a heartbreaking act of mindless vandalism of a much loved, famous landmark in the North East. “A very sad day for the iconic Sycamore Gap, which will upset so many people around the country — and even across the world,” she added.

Local councillor Steven Bridgett wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the tree “has definitely been cut down using a chainsaw.”

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2023