A second person has been arrested in connection with the destruction of an iconic tree in northern England.
Hours after a 16-year-old boy was released on bail, police said a man in his 60s was arrested and is being questioned in custody.
The boy was arrested Thursday on suspicion of criminal damage in connection with the felling of the beloved Sycamore Gap tree near the Roman-era landmark of Hadrian’s Wall.
The tree, which was several hundred years old, was cut down Wednesday in what Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness said “looks like a deliberate act of vandalism.”
“I hope this second arrest demonstrates just how seriously we’re taking this situation and our ongoing commitment to find those responsible and bring them to justice,” said Detective Chief Inspector Rebecca Fenney-Menzies.
Photographs of the fallen tree show that it was cut at its base.
Fans of the tree posted their photographs of it on various internet sites, along with comments about what the tree meant to them.
The tree was featured in the 1991 film “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” starring Kevin Costner.
