From Sue Lupton, Newport,

Vandals have destroyed a young birch tree, beside a footpath off Snowberry Road, Newport.

As this photograph shows, the tree was one of several, planted some years ago to enhance the area. The footpath is used by hundreds of people every week, including school children and parents, dog walkers, and residents walking from the Carisbrooke Meadows and Park estates into the town centre.

The lifespan of a birch tree is 140 years. I am shocked and angry someone in our community has chosen to deprive everyone else, now and in the future, of the pleasure of this tree.