A 16-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage in connection with the felling of the 300-year-old Sycamore Gap tree in the north of England.
Officers arrested the teenager amid an outpouring of sadness over the destruction of the landmark, which has been a feature of the site at Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland for hundreds of years. The boy is in custody and assisting officers with their inquiries, Northumbria police said on Thursday.
Locals and national park authorities said they were “struggling to see the logic” in the destruction of a sycamore which had long become “part of this area’s DNA” and had gone through thousands of changes of seasons.
The tree, believed to have been about 300 years old, was made famous when it appeared in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner.
It can be frustrating to see, but they have a tonne going on biologically. I’ve had a bunch of friends, nieces & nephews that have all been horrible when teenagers, then grow up to be fantastic, kind people.
That’s because they learned where being an asshole gets them.
Some don’t. And, the people around them suffer. If this kid gets a slap on the hand, it sends a message: “you can do whatever you want with no consequences.”
This kid will not be getting a mere slap, no matter what police do. This kid will be shunned almost completely from the local community.
As he should.
He can move and never hear about it again.
His idiocy made national news. Where’s he going to go to avoid it? Gibraltar?
The kid is stuck on that island where everyone knows his name for the wrong reasons. It’s not like the rest of Europe where freedom of travel is a thing. Not to mention a Brit isn’t going to last long in a state European school.
Haha brexit. Whoopsie 🤪
That and a lack of language tuition. European countries overwhelmingly do their schooling in their native languages, something English schools aren’t good at teaching.
you consider having to move as “no consequences”?
I’ve moved many times. It’s not a big deal. If I commit a crime and “moving” is my punishment, I’m gonna murder a lot of billionaires.
im putting 10 bucks on that not actually being the universal experience, especially to a different town
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As an 18 year old it was a blessing when I could finally move out. And I wanted it for years at that point.
im putting 10 bucks on that not actually being the universal experience, especially to a different town
Sadly, some people never learn. I know a 53 year old man who never made it past 15, emotionally. He thinks cruelty is funny, and constantly tries to provoke everyone around him for attention. It’s extremely annoying.