VANDALS who felled three Scots pines at Rednal Hill in the Lickeys have been slammed for the damage they have caused to the area of natural beauty.
Last weekend, the Lickey Hill Rangers found the trees had been ‘roughly and unprofessionally’ hacked down.
The trees were around 20ft high which, experts estimate, means they would have been around 30 years old.
It comes just over a year after the area lost around 80 of its trees due to the devastating fire last July.
These trees were billed as the next generation of the country park’s Scots pines trees which means if new ones were planted, it would take 30 years to get to this point and by then these would be well-established 60-year-old varieties.
Baden Carlson, the of the Lickey Hills Society, also hit out at the ‘mindless vandalism’.
He said: “It’s always a shame when you lose trees, especially Scots pines which are synonymous with the area.
“Rednal Hill has got a more indentifiable look than some of the other hills at the Lickeys because of this species of tree.
“Rednal Hill is extremely steep from all sides so you do not get many people walking up there.”
Picture by the Lickey Hills Society. s
He urged anyone who saw any trees being cut down in the Lickeys or any other suspicious behaviour to call the Lickey Hills Hub on 0121 464 8728 or 0121 675 9686.
Alternatively, call Birmingham City Council’s general switchboard on 0121 303 1111.
