The suspect cut down the Robin Hood tree with a chainsaw

“It was like my heart was ripped out of my chest,” said Sproat, who lives nearby and often captured the tree in his lens.

The tree was a rallying point for all of England

The photographer is not the only one feeling sad. The great sycamore was famous not only in Northumberland, but throughout England.

The tree’s symmetrical growth and location near Hadrian’s Wall, a Roman fort dating back to around 100 AD, have given it a timeless and picturesque appearance and made it one of the most photographed sites in Britain.

For generations, the tree has been a meeting and gathering place, for example when proposing to a loved one. Others came here to say their final farewells and scatter the ashes of their dead.

Even the filmmakers were looking well at The Sycamore Gap Tree. In 1991, for example, it was used extensively as a backdrop in the adventure film “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.”

The movie made the tree famous and named it the Robin Hood Tree.

In 2016, the beautiful tree was named Tree of the Year in the United Kingdom.

But after the vandalism, only the trunk remained. The case is still under investigation and police suspect a 60-year-old man who has now been arrested. They also suspect a 16-year-old boy who has been released on bail.

The National Trust organization responsible for the area hopes that the tree will be preserved.

“It’s a sycamore tree, so there’s a chance the trunk will grow back,” Andrew Budd, president of the National Trust, told the newspaper. “But it will never be the same again.” Watchman.

Video: Watch the sycamore tree in the movie Robin Hood: