• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
'Chainsaw-Wielding Maniac' Chops Down Tree And Tries To Blame Storm Eunice

Home> Community

Updated 14:36 23 Feb 2022 GMTPublished 14:13 23 Feb 2022 GMT

'Chainsaw-Wielding Maniac' Chops Down Tree And Tries To Blame Storm Eunice

People in the area couldn't believe someone had used the storm as an excuse to get rid of the unwanted plant

Charlie Metcalfe

Charlie Metcalfe

A group of neighbours in Hertfordshire are furious after an unknown culprit chopped down a tree and left it lying in the middle of the road - apparently looking to blame the felling on Storm Eunice. You can see the state the tree was left in below:

They discovered the tree surrounded by sawdust and embedded with chainsaw cut marks in Panshanger, Welwyn Garden City, following the storm on Friday (18 February).

Eunice has torn trees from the ground across the country - providing the mystery chopper with the perfect excuse to dispose of the unwanted birch.

Advert

Although apparently they thought a pile of sawdust around a tree supposedly felled by strong winds wouldn't look suspicious.

One local said they first noticed it at about 10.30pm or 11pm on Friday night.

Pen News

She said: “It had definitely come down that day. It wasn’t like that when I left to go to work in the morning. 

“The next morning I went and had an investigation, where I spotted it was clean cut, sawdust all over the floor and the tree is in the middle of the road, lying there.

Advert

“You can’t just chop a tree down and leave it in the middle of the road – it’s just unacceptable.

“I don’t wanna wake up, walk out the front door and see someone lying dead halfway through their windscreen because someone’s chopped a tree down."

Pen News

She also claimed the area was only lightly affected by the storm.

She said: “I think they took advantage of the adverse weather conditions because there’s trees coming down left, right and centre.

Advert

“But around our area there wasn’t even a small branch come down.

“It’s a bit of a liberty to try to palm it off as ‘the wind has done it’ and leave it in the middle of the road.” 

Another neighbour said: “What kind of chainsaw-wielding maniac goes out looking to play lumberjack when there’s a red storm warning? 

“It’s obvious they wanted the tree gone and thought we’d all be too stupid to notice the clean cut marks and the mountain of sawdust.” 

Pen News

Advert

Images from the scene show a police road closure in place but Herts Police said nothing indicated a crime had been committed and the road has now been cleared.

One neighbour said “I would’ve thought they would investigate just from seeing the sawdust because as soon as I’d seen the sawdust I was like ‘they’ve obviously cut that down’. 

“It’s got to be wilful destruction of property – or there must be some law surrounding it one way or the other. 

“It was extremely annoying to see.” 

Pen News

Advert

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, which maintains trees in the area, confirmed its employees had not felled the tree.

A spokesperson said: "Our tree officers have inspected the site and it appears that someone other than the council has felled the tree.

"The details have been passed on to Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) for them to clear."

Featured Image Credit: Pen News
Charlie Metcalfe
Charlie Metcalfe

Charlie is a freelance features journalist with articles on BBC News and in The Telegraph. He covers any story that piques his interest.

X

@cafmetcalfe

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

11 hours ago
a day ago
  • 11 hours ago

    Google Maps users convinced strange sighting created by 'ancient alien visitors' to leave a 'sign' behind

    That's me convinced

    Community
  • a day ago

    Man’s life was saved when Domino’s workers noticed he didn’t place an order one day

    Sometimes cheesy stories can be heartwarming too

    Community
  • a day ago

    Man bought storage container for £1,400 and made enormous profit after discovering what was inside

    One man's trash is another man's treasure

    Community
  • a day ago

    Brutal ancient torture method used against spies was worryingly simple but one of the worst ever

    The mental ramifications are much worse than the physical

    Community
  • Investigation launched after man in his 40s dies from tree falling on van during Storm Darragh
  • Two men found guilty of chopping down world famous Sycamore Gap tree
  • Shocking Moment Tree Crashes Into Bus In Storm Eunice Winds
  • Divorce expert says there is 'one thing' to blame for marriages ending and it's not cheating