Man who cut down war memorial Christmas tree in ‘attention-seeking joke’ spared jail

Dylan McNamara, 26, felled the pine on the village green just hours after up to 100 people had watched the Christmas lights switch-on at Shotton Colliery, Co Durham, on December 10.

He admitted criminal damage at a previous hearing and was handed a 10-week jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work by magistrates sitting in Newton Aycliffe on Tuesday.

Paul Doney, prosecuting, said the tree had been in place for 10 years and was used as a focal point for the village at Christmas, as well as serving as a war memorial.

He said the value of the tree was in the thousands of pounds as it had grown to 20ft tall, although the prosecution accepted the figure was less than £5,000.

Stuart Wardle, parish council clerk, said: “I found it disgraceful that someone could do this to the tree.

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“It is very well-known locally as a war memorial.”

Police examined CCTV and identified the defendant, of Bruce Glazier Terrace, and officers found a saw hidden behind the fridge in his kitchen.

McNamara had no previous convictions, the court heard.

Amrit Jandoo, defending, said another person was with McNamara when the tree was felled, but they had not been prosecuted.

He said: “This defendant has shamefully brought himself into public ridicule by following another.”

Mr Jandoo said McNamara had been assessed and found to demonstrate impulsivity and a lack of judgment.

He added: “Clearly, this defendant has shown the appropriate remorse and wishes to apologise to the court and to the public of Shotton Colliery.”

Mr Jandoo said McNamara had been assaulted as a result of his actions.

The lawyer said there was no explanation for cutting the tree down, other than it was “probably a joke, probably some kind of attention seeking”, but the defendant himself did not know.

Chairman of the Bench William Unsworth, sentencing, said: “This was not a very nice thing to do, was it, especially when it was a memorial to people who died in the wars?”

The magistrates ordered that he must pay £520 compensation, which will come from his benefits.

McNamara did not speak to reporters as he left court with his head covered by a hood.

Durham Constabulary later clarified that a second person has been charged with criminal damage and will appear before court next month.