Police notified after trees are vandalised in St Mary's

Police have been contacted by First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO) following three incidents of ‘mindless vandalism’ to trees in the St Mary’s district of the town.

An Acer tree had its bark stripped off and will die following an attack earlier this month in Radcliffe Street.

At the same time two cages around Acer trees in the same street were smashed.

In March an Acer was set on fire there and last year the bark was stripped off another Acer, this time in nearby Lord Street.

This tree has already been felled and the others will die too and need to be replaced.

FCHO is appealing for anyone who has information about the crimes to contact Greater Manchester Police.

The housing association also believes the attacks - that will cost thousands of pounds to fix - could be linked.

“This mindless vandalism has caused considerable distress to our customers and staff who value the trees a great deal in the communal areas as a haven for wildlife and as living things to admire and cherish,” said FCHO head of neighbourhood care David Wrigley.

“It is difficult to understand why someone would want to do this but sadly it is not an isolated incident now.

"This means we have called the police and asked them to investigate to try and find the culprits.

“It is unacceptable to cause this damage, it's anti-social, it costs money and it harms our communities.

"It must stop and if anyone knows anything about these crimes, I would urge them to contact Greater Manchester Police and quote crime reference CRI/06QQ/0011179/25.”

The bill for the damage will run it into the thousands, Mr Wrigley explained.

It has cost more than £2,000 to fell the one Acer and then replace it.

Other costs include nearly £400 to replace the damaged cages, alongside future costs running into thousands to fell the other two trees.

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