An Aberdeen man is “absolutely flabbergasted” after nine 20ft trees in his garden were “decimated” whilst he was on holiday.
Retired Alistair Robb, 69, was on holiday in Ballater, Crieff and the Lake District with his wife Susan for a month when he came back to the “terrible mess”.
Police have now launched an investigation amidst concerns from the homeowners they have been deliberately targeted.
Neighbours spotted trees being sawed
Describing what happened to the pine trees at his property on Abbottswell Drive in Kincorth, Mr Robb said: “Someone had a go at them with saws and chopped them up quite badly. They’ve just hacked them to pieces.
“They’ve chopped them off all at roughly about the same level, but they’ve made a terrible mess and there’s just bits of trees just lying about all over the place.”
“We were absolutely flabbergasted that someone would have the audacity to do something like that, it was a complete shock to us.”
The couple went on holiday on June 12 and returned on July 13, however, Mr Robb knows roughly when the incident happened, as both of neighbours told him that it was done between June 23 and 26.
Both of the neighbours on either side noticed that someone was sawing at the trees, however, they did not take any action due to thinking it was something the couple had arranged to happen.
“Someone must have seen that we were away and they either did it themselves or they got someone else to do it.
“It would’ve taken ages and it would have been a quite a difficult job because these are bushy trees,” he told The P&J.
Home ‘definitely targeted’
Mr Robb thinks his home was “definitely targeted”, believing that his motorhome being away from the driveway signaled that the couple were on holiday.
“Someone if they were very observant would see we are going away on holiday,” he said.
He believes another explanation is that somebody who lives nearby targeted the trees – which are located in his back garden – due to them blocking their view, despite only being 10ft above street level on Deevale Road.
Mr Robb said: “Nobody has spoken to us about these trees being a blot on the landscape since that time. We were just dumbfounded by why anybody would want to do that.
“I don’t understand why someone would have done it, other than for a view across the town. It’s just crazy why anybody would want to do that rather than come and talk to us about it.”
As well as the damage to the trees, damage has also been caused to a birds nest that was inside them.
The homeowner reported the incident to the police on July 13, adding: “I’m hoping that someone will have noticed it and will tell the police, because it is criminal damage and it is vandalism. It’s the sort of thing that can escalate and I don’t want that to happen.”
A police spokeswoman said: “Following inquiries, a 42-year-old man has been charged in connection with the incident and has been reported to the procurator fiscal.”
