Man arrested over south London ‘tree massacre’

A man has been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage after 131 trees were cut down in south London.

Police were called to Cator Park in Bromley on Saturday morning over a dispute about the felling of trees that were under a protection order.

A local conservation group described what happened as “a tree massacre”.

The Met said officers spoke to a man in his 30s, advising work to cease. He was arrested when they returned after being informed the felling was continuing.

Several items were also seized, including chainsaws, the force said in a statement. The man was later released on bail.

The Friends of Cator and Alexandra, a group of residents who look after local parkland, told the BBC that they applied for a Tree Protection Order (TPO) a few weeks ago after seeing trees being cut down.

Bromley Council officers approved the TPO last week and a sign was put on park gates saying the trees in the area were subject to the order for six months.

Sarah Counsell from the Cator Woodland Action Group said: “Early on Saturday morning, despite a TPO in place, a man instructed trees to be cut down in the field adjacent to the park.

“Concurrently there was also an attempt to bring a digger on to the site without permission, which was blocked by local members of the public.”

Ms Counsell told the BBC: “I still find it quite emotional walking in and seeing it like this. We were all completely devastated, it’s utterly heart-breaking.

“This place is very special to this community and what they’ve done here is utterly barbaric,” she added.

Anna Taylor, director of the countryside charity CPRE London, said the land at Cator Park was of “nature reserve-quality”, with woodpeckers, kingfishers and tawny owls in the trees.

She said she was concerned it could “take decades” for the area to recover fully.

The field adjacent to Cator Park is privately owned but has had open access for over 25 years.

The popular spot for dog-walkers and families is Metropolitan Open Land, meaning planning applications are tightly restricted and the felling of trees without permission is illegal.

Bromley Council said it was not aware of an application for development of the land, adding: “We are aware of this very sad incident, which can only be described as environmental destruction, where 131 protected trees have been destroyed.

“This was a thriving young woodland that was valued by many locally and we are now investigating what has happened here.”