Press Release
For Immediate Use
Police track Gorton street tree vandals

Police in Gorton are investigating the vandalism of a brand new street tree project, which caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage. The vandals destroyed four of the eleven trees only two weeks after they had been planted.

The trees were planted just two weeks ago in Oakfield Grove, Gorton, following extensive fundraising by the Gore Brook Valley residents’ group.
The trees, which were funded by Manchester CAS:H grants, were snapped in half just before they developed their spring blossom.
And the attack has led to some residents installing their own CCTV cameras in a bid to catch the criminals red handed and provide evidence for the police.

Fiona McIntyre, chairperson for the Gore Brook Valley residents’ association, was clearly upset by the vandalism. She said: “I’m delighted that the police now know about this vandalism and next time something happens everybody will be ready to contact them. But I’m still saddened that the trees were vandalised in the first place. Oakfield Grove is a particularly close knit street and people have been trying to get street trees for over three years now.”

And Mr Walsh, a resident from the grove, expressed the disappointment of the whole street. He said: “As soon as they were put in, all the residents quickly adopted the trees by putting bedding plants around the bases. The vandalism was therefore all the more upsetting to everyone.”

The tree planting was organised by Red Rose Forest, Greater Manchester’s Community Forest’s Green Streets team. And street tree experts, Green Streets, have never experienced this level of vandalism. Green Streets Manager, Pete Stringer was keen to stress that despite being an isolated incident it is important not let the vandals think they can get away with it. He said: “It’s terribly unfair to the residents, who’ve have spent countless hours of their free time organising funding for this project. To see all that hard work destroyed in a few minutes really hurts.
“And what makes it worse is that the vandals seem to have come back for a second bite of the cherry because the final tree to be vandalised was damaged a few days after the first three trees were attacked.”

Red Rose Forest planted 310 street trees across Manchester and Trafford last year and secured a 94.6 per cent survival rate, making the loss in Gorton is an isolated but important incident.

For more information please contact Peter Stringer or Chris Johnstone at Red Rose Forest on 0161 872 1660.