A 16-year-old boy has been arrested after one of the most photographed trees in the country was cut down.
The tree at Sycamore Gap, next to Hadrian’s Wall, was made famous when it appeared in the 1991 Kevin Costner film Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.
The 16-year-old boy is being held in police custody and is said to be assisting officers with their enquiries.
Superintendent Kevin Waring, of Northumbria Police, said: “This is a world-renowned landmark and the events of today have caused significant shock, sadness and anger throughout the local community and beyond.
“Given our investigation remains at a very early stage, we are keeping an open mind.
“I am appealing to the public for information to assist us – if you have seen or heard anything suspicious that may be of interest to us, please let us know.”
The Northumberland national park authority said: “[We] can confirm that sadly, the famous tree at Sycamore Gap has come down overnight.
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“We are working with the relevant agencies and partners with an interest in this iconic North East landmark and will issue more details once they are known.”
The public has been asked not to visit the site, near Crag Lough, “whilst we work with our partners to identify what has happened and to make the site safe”.
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The National Trust, which owns the land, said it was “shocked and saddened” over the felling of the tree, which was voted English Tree of the Year in 2016 in the Woodland Trust’s awards.
Andrew Poad, the trust’s general manager for Hadrian’s Wall and Tyne Valley, said: “The tree has been an important and iconic feature in the landscape for nearly 200 years and means a lot to the local community and to anyone who has visited the site.”
Image: The tree at Sycamore Gap on Hadrian’s Wall is one of the most photographed trees in the UK
Brendon Hayward proposed to his wife Sinead in January 2019 beneath the tree.
The couple, who live in the area, married in September 2021 and have a 15-month-old son, and another baby on the way.
“The tree was precious to me because I’d hoped we could revisit it as a family as our children got older,” he told Sky News.
“I chose the place to propose because the tree would grow with time and hopefully be there in 50 or 100 years. I’m gutted.”
Image: Brendon Hayward proposed under the Sycamore Gap in 2021
People on social media expressed their sadness and anger over the incident, with many calling it “horrific” or “sickening”.
The tree stood in a dip in Hadrian’s Wall, with the Roman Milecastle 39 just to its left, and is looked after by both Northumberland national park and the National Trust.
Photographer Steven Lomas wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “I can’t even begin to describe how sad I am that the most beautiful and famous tree in England, Sycamore Gap, has either been cut down or blew down.
“I am pretty devastated that the place I love most in Northumberland is essentially no more.”
Image: Google Maps has already renamed the location Sycamore Stump
Police and crime commissioner for Northumberia, Kim McGuinness, said: “I’m devastated that the famous Sycamore is gone. That tree was ours. An iconic North East landmark.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police.
A 15-year-old boy who was operated on twice by a now unlicensed Great Ormond Street surgeon is living with “continuous” pain.
Finias Sandu has been told by an independent review the procedures he underwent on both his legs were “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” for his age.
The teenager from Essex was born with a condition that causes curved bones in his legs.
Aged seven, a reconstructive procedure was carried out on Finias’s left leg, lengthening the limb by 3.5cm.
A few years later, the same operation was carried out on his right leg which involved wearing an invasive and heavy metal frame for months.
He has now been told by independent experts these procedures should not have taken place and concerns have been raised over a lack of imaging being taken prior to the operations.
Image: Yaser Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence last year. Pic: LinkedIn
His doctor at London’s prestigious Great Ormond Street Hospital was former consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar. Sky News has spoken to others he treated.
Mr Jabbar also did not arrange for updated scans or for relevant X-rays to be conducted ahead of the procedures.
The surgeries have been found to have caused Finias “harm” and left him in constant pain.
“The pain is there every day, every day I’m continuously in pain,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not something really sharp, although it does get to a certain point where it hurts quite a lot, but it’s always there. It just doesn’t leave, it’s a companion to me, just always there.”
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January last year after working at Great Ormond Street between 2017 and 2022.
The care of his 700-plus patients is being assessed, with some facing corrective surgery, among them Finias.
“Trusting somebody is hard to do, knowing what they have done to me physically and emotionally, you know, it’s just too much to comprehend for me,” he said.
“It wasn’t something just physically, like my leg pain and everything else. It was emotionally, because I put my trust in that specific doctor. My parents and I don’t really understand the more scientific terms, we just went by what he said.”
Doctors refused to treat Finias because of his surgeries
Finias and his family relocated to their native Romania soon after the reconstructive frame was removed from his right leg in the summer of 2021.
The pain worsened and they sought advice from doctors in Romania, who refused to treat Finias because of the impact of his surgeries.
Dozens of families seeking legal claims
His mother Cornelia Sandu is “furious” and feels her trust in the hospital has been shattered. They are now among dozens of families seeking legal claims.
Cyrus Plaza from Hudgell Solicitors is representing the family. He said: “In cases where it has been identified that harm was caused, we want to see Great Ormond Street Hospital agreeing to pay interim payments of compensation for the children, so that if they need therapy or treatment now, they can access it.”
Finias is accessing therapy and mental health support as he prepares for corrective surgery later in the year.
A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital told Sky News: “We are deeply sorry to Finias and his family, and all the patients and families who have been impacted.
“We want every patient and family who comes to our hospital to feel safe and cared for. We will always discuss concerns families may have and, where they submit claims, we will work to ensure the legal process can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Image: Finias with his mother and sister
Service not ‘safe for patients’
Sky News has attempted to contact Mr Jabbar.
An external review into the wider orthopaedic department at the hospital began in September 2022.
It was commissioned after the Royal College of Surgeons warned the hospital’s lower limb reconstruction service was not “safe for patients or adequate to meet demand”.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Sir Keir Starmer has said closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK’s jobs, bills and borders ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal with the bloc.
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday as part of its efforts to “reset” relations post-Brexit.
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – but disagreements over a youth mobility scheme and fishing rights could prove to be a stumbling block.
The prime minister has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
His comment comes after Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said on Friday work on a defence deal was progressing but “we’re not there yet”.
Sir Keir met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later that day while at a summit in Albania.
Image: Ursula von der Leyen and Sir Keir had a brief meeting earlier this week. Pic: PA
Sir Keir said: “First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising.
“More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.
“Tomorrow, we take another step forward, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union.”
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “worried” about what the PM might have negotiated.
Ms Badenoch – who has promised to rip up the deal with the EU if it breaches her red lines on Brexit – said: “Labour should have used this review of our EU trade deal to secure new wins for Britain, such as an EU-wide agreement on Brits using e-gates on the continent.
“Instead, it sounds like we’re giving away our fishing quotas, becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again and getting free movement by the back door. This isn’t a reset, it’s a surrender.”
Roman Lavrynovych appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday and was remanded in custody.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command led the investigation because of the connections to the prime minister.
Emergency services were called to a fire in the early hours of Monday at a house in Kentish Town, north London, where Sir Keir lived with his family before the election.