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Villagers get the needle as forest chiefs end 50-year tradition of free Xmas tree and police fine feller £200
FOR nearly 50 years, the residents of Harbottle have taken a spruce tree from nearby woods to be the centre of Christmas celebrations.
But the tradition this year led to the police being called in by ‘Scrooge-like’ forestry chiefs – and a £200 fine for one of the locals who felled the tree.
Residents of the Northumberland village insist Forestry England granted them permission in the early 1970s to take a tree, decorate it with lights and place it on the village green. However, this year forestry officials turned up on the doorstep of one of the tree-fellers along with police.
The man, who was snapped on CCTV, was ordered to pay £200 compensation – which he did to avoid a court appearance and a criminal record.
Forestry England claimed the behaviour of the villagers was ‘unacceptable’. But local councillor Steven Bridgett accused forestry chiefs of lacking Christmas spirit. He insisted: ‘ It is incredibly mean- spirited and Scroogelike of Forestry England to report the villagers to the police and ban them from taking a tree from their local forest during what is supposed to be the season of goodwill.
‘Since the very early 1970s they have allowed the villagers of Harbottle to have a tree at Christmas. We see it as a bit of recompense for having to put up with the environmental and social impact of
‘Incredibly mean-spirited’
timber extraction.’ He added: ‘What really rankles is that every year they gift a huge Christmas tree to the Houses of Parliament which they take from nearby Kielder Forest.
‘They pay for it to be transported all the way down to London.’ Bill Gibson, of the Harbottle Christmas lights committee, said the tree helped to foster community spirit. He stressed: ‘We’ve never had any trouble before. The Christmas tree means a lot to the village. It brings the community together. It is the centrepiece of the village at this time of year. It is close to a school and the children decorate it and sing Christmas carols around it. It’s really heavy-handed to have contacted the police in this way.’
Kevin May, of Forestry England, defended its actions. He said: ‘ At Harbottle we were faced with the evidence of individuals entering a public forest and removing a tree without contacting us beforehand which means that there were no express consents or permissions in place. This is unacceptable.
‘In addition to the removal of public property without consent, there is an associated risk to individual and public safety through uncontrolled tree-felling activity.’
Northumbria Police said: ‘ Shortly before 3pm on December 10, police received a report of a theft of a tree from Forestry England. Those responsible were located and paid £200 compensation.’