Police officers have a look at the tree at Sycamore Gap, subsequent to Hadrian’s Wall, in Northumberland, England, Thursday on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. One of the UK’s most photographed bushes was “deliberately” felled in an obvious act of vandalism, authorities mentioned. The 300-year-old tree was made well-known when it appeared in Kevin Costner’s 1991 movie Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.

Owen Humphreys/AP

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Owen Humphreys/AP

Police officers have a look at the tree at Sycamore Gap, subsequent to Hadrian’s Wall, in Northumberland, England, Thursday on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. One of the UK’s most photographed bushes was “deliberately” felled in an obvious act of vandalism, authorities mentioned. The 300-year-old tree was made well-known when it appeared in Kevin Costner’s 1991 movie Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.

Owen Humphreys/AP

LONDON — A 16-year-old boy was arrested Thursday in northern England in reference to what authorities described because the “deliberate” felling of a well-known tree that had stood for practically 200 years subsequent to the Roman landmark Hadrian’s Wall.

Thousands of tourists every year stroll alongside Hadrian’s Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that guarded the Roman Empire‘s northwestern frontier. Many have paused to admire and {photograph} the tree at Sycamore Gap, a beloved icon of the panorama that was made well-known when it appeared in Kevin Costner’s 1991 movie Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.

Photographs from the scene on early Thursday confirmed that the tree was minimize down close to the bottom of its trunk, with the remainder of it mendacity on its aspect.

Northumbria Police mentioned the teenager was arrested on suspicion of inflicting felony harm. He was in police custody and aiding officers with their inquiries, the drive mentioned.

“The tree is a world-renowned landmark and the vandalism has caused understandable shock and anger throughout the local community and beyond,” police mentioned in an announcement.

A view of the tree at Sycamore Gap close to Hadrian’s Wall close to Bardon Mill, England, in August 2015. It is likely one of the UK’s most photographed bushes.

Scott Heppell/AP file picture

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Scott Heppell/AP file picture

A view of the tree at Sycamore Gap close to Hadrian’s Wall close to Bardon Mill, England, in August 2015. It is likely one of the UK’s most photographed bushes.

Scott Heppell/AP file picture

“This is an incredibly sad day,” police superintendent Kevin Waring mentioned. “The tree was iconic to the North East and enjoyed by so many who live in or who have visited this region.”

The Northumberland National Park authority requested the general public to not go to the felled tree, which was voted English Tree of the Year in 2016.

Alison Hawkins, who was strolling on the Hadrian’s Wall path, was one of many first individuals who noticed the harm early Thursday.

“It was a proper shock. It’s basically the iconic picture that everyone wants to see,” she mentioned. “You can forgive nature doing it but you can’t forgive that.”