A “mindless act of vandalism” on Sunday afternoon has damaged three young trees which line Letchworth Gate.
The three-metre high Pranus Padus trees, which belong to NHDC and welcome visitors to Letchworth from the A1, were broken in half.
The trees were planted in February 2013 to replace a number of mature Horse Chestnuts which were removed last year due to a bacterial infection.
Councillor Peter Burt, NHDC’s portfolio holder for the environment said: “It saddens me that one person’s mindless act of vandalism can cause such a large amount of damage, which has destroyed the look of a beautiful tree lined route in Letchworth for the rest of the community.
“Unfortunately, vandalism affects every council taxpayer in the district. NHDC has to divert valuable money and resources to repair damage such as this, and I would urge anyone who sees vandalism being carried out to contact the police on the non emergency number 101.”
The trees will now have to be replaced during the next planting season at the beginning of 2015.
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