Following the mindless, callous, thoughtless, but sadly not bladeless, attack on trees at Brewery Field, Town Council inspections have shown that the trees will not survive. Scott Mason, new Head of Amenities at Bridgwater Town Council which now has the brief for Parks and Open Spaces in Bridgwater, said “Unfortunately, due to the severity of the damage, these trees will not recover. However, they are not a risk to public safety as they stand, and so urgent action is not required.”

Scott explained “When the outer bark is damaged/removed in this way the tree is still able to access water and nutrients from the ground (the vascular tissue responsible for this is further within the tree).£

“It does mean that the tree is unable to move and store sugars in the root system at the end of the growing season that it needs to come into leaf each spring. They are likely to survive for a couple of years and then decline as their reserves of energy run out.”

Who Dun It?

Ward Councillor and Town Council leader  Brian Smedley said “This means that we will need to look at replacement this planting season. The truth is though we simply can’t protect every tree from every idiot and so people really need to be taught about the value of trees to our world and really not a good idea to damage them in this way.  Maybe the culprit would like to come forward and face up to what he did wrong and offer to pay for 2 new trees. He could be a real ambassador for other potential tree harmers. Amnesty, apology, front page picture in the paper ‘i was wrong but now I know better. Don’t be like me, don’t kill a tree’. That would be a good thing wouldn’t it.”

Cllr Tim Mander who takes over today as the Chair of the Amenities committee adds “Just so sad how a petty act of vandalism can effectively kill a tree. I hope that proper coverage is given and the individual is made aware of the consequences of his actions”