360 trees vandalised and stolen at Charnwood water in Loughborough

Volunteers helped plant 560 trees there last year and most of them have either been damaged or ripped up.

Around 200 of the trees have been saved and moved to other locations. However, the remaining 360 trees are wasted. They had been donated by The Conservation Volunteers Charity.

The Council said they will continue to work with the police to tackle vandalism and identify those involved.

Cllr Jenny Bokor, lead member for open spaces in Charnwood said: “This is incredibly disappointing...it is a huge shame for members of the community who volunteered their time to help plant the trees.
 
“Regardless of whether people agree with the trees being there or not, there is no justification for this mindless vandalism. This is not the first time that trees have been vandalised at Charnwood Water. As such we have reported the incidences to the police”.
 
“We take pride in our open spaces and want to increase the number of trees in the borough.  However, it’s being made extremely difficult when we’re constantly battling with vandalism or theft.”

The trees were planted as part of a council pledge to see an additional 100,000 trees planted in the borough by 2024.