An upset Harrogate family discovered this morning its memorial tree on the Stray had been damaged.
Sharon Canavar posted pictures of the tree on Twitter this morning and described her sadness at the incident.
Ms Canavar suspects the tree, planted along Slingsby Walk, was vandalised overnight. The top two-thirds were snapped off and left on the floor.
The tree is one of 50 planted in 2016 to mark Harrogate International Festival’s 50th anniversary. Residents were offered the chance to buy a tree, with many doing so in memory of loved ones.
Ms Canavar, who is chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals, bought a tree for her family. She said:
“I found it this morning on our walk. My kids were more upset. People say it happens a lot and there has been a spate of it happening in the past. It seems they’ve got mine this time.”
She hopes to be able to replace the tree eventually.
This is far from the first tree on the Stray that has been damaged recently.
Read more:
- A Knaresborough woman is set to resume her protests against plans to expand into the Pinewoods.
- A group aiming to provide affordable houses in Harrogate has appealed for the chance to develop housing on the Harlow Nurseries site.
In October, local police officer, Sgt Paul Cording tweeted about a number of trees “destroyed and killed” on York Place Stray.
In June, there were reports of vandalism affecting young trees. It occurred when local police officers were attempting to crack down on large groups congregating on the Stray.
