Following the removal of 131 trees in south London, a man has been detained on suspicion of causing criminal damage.
On Saturday morning, Bromley's Cator Park received a call from the police regarding a dispute regarding the removal of trees covered by a protection order.
What happened was referred to as "a tree massacre" by a local conservation organization.
A man in his 30s was advised to stop working by officers, according to the Met. They learned that the felling was still going on when they came back, and he was taken into custody.
The force announced in a statement that a number of items were also seized, including chainsaws. Later, bail was used to release the man.
A few weeks ago, after noticing trees being cut down, the Friends of Cator and Alexandra, a group of locals who maintain the parkland nearby, told the BBC that they had applied for a Tree Protection Order (TPO).
After the TPO was approved by Bromley Council officials last week, a notice stating that the area's trees were subject to the order for six months was posted on the park's gates.
Early on Saturday morning, despite a TPO being in place, a man gave the order to cut down trees in the field next to the park, according to Sarah Counsell of the Cator Woodland Action Group.
"At the same time, there was an unauthorized attempt to bring a digger onto the site, which local residents successfully thwarted. ".
According to Ms. Counsell, walking in and seeing it like this still makes her feel quite emotional. It's absolutely heartbreaking that we were all completely devastated.
She continued, "This place is very special to this community, and what they've done here is absolutely barbaric.".
The land at Cator Park, according to Anna Taylor, director of the rural charity CPRE London, is of "nature reserve-quality," with woodpeckers, kingfishers, and tawny owls in the trees.
For the area to fully recover, she expressed concern that it might "take decades.".
Although privately owned, the field next to Cator Park has been accessible to the public for more than 25 years.
Metropolitan Open Land is a well-liked location for dog walkers and families, so tree cutting without authorization is prohibited and planning applications are strictly regulated.
"We are aware of this very sad incident, which can only be described as environmental destruction, where 131 protected trees have been destroyed," Bromley Council said, adding that it was not aware of a request for development of the land. .
"We are currently looking into what happened to this thriving young woodland, which was valued by many people in the neighborhood.
. "