More than 750 Doncaster trees vandalised

The trees had recently been planted in Skellow

More than 750 newly planted trees have been vandalised in Doncaster, causing about £15,000 worth of damage.

The trees on Crossfields Lane, Skellow were "pulled up, vandalised and destroyed", with their guards stolen, South Yorkshire Police said.

Insp Sebastian Dent said: "To see such reckless vandalism in our community is devastating."

Councillor Thomas Noon from City of Doncaster Council said tree vandalism was an "ongoing issue".

He added: "Last year we planted 1,500 with Askern Town Council and a few hundred of those got uprooted as well.

"Maybe we have got to look at education in schools. I would definitely say it's linked to anti-social behaviour.

"The problem with that field is there's no CCTV and it's set pretty far back so there's no lighting."

In 2021 Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones announced her ambition to plant one million trees in the city over the next 10 years to help combat climate change.

"It's an uphill battle for the council to try and hit the target of one million trees with so much anti-social behaviour and lack of thought for the environment," said Cllr Noon.

Police asked anyone with information about the incident to contact them.