Men arrested after village Christmas tree cut down

Two men have been arrested after a Christmas tree which has stood in a village for more than 10 years was cut down, hours after its lights were switched on.

The tree, in Shotton Colliery, County Durham, was felled at some point between 22:00 and 23:00 GMT on Wednesday.

Two men were arrested after an appeal by Peterlee Neighbourhood Police Team.

Police said officers were in the process of charging and remanding a 26-year-old man with criminal damage, while a 23-year-old man has been released under investigation.

On Friday, Shotton Residents Association chairman Steve Maitland said the tree had been put up as a monument to the fallen soldiers of World War One.

He told BBC Radio Tees that members of the public were making a sleeve for the tree's base, so they could bolt it back up as quickly as possible, "just to tide us over for Christmas".

He said: "These people who did this – I don't think they understand the history and the feeling of these things."

Some of the people involved in fundraising for the tree a decade ago had since died, he said.

He called the attack "mindless vandalism" but said he could not "turn the clock back".