Lumberjack wrongly arrested for felling Sycamore Gap tree forced to wear Rod Stewart wig to avoid abuse

Lumberjack Walter Renwick, 69, from Northumberland was arrested the day after the felling of the iconic tree sparked which widespread outrage.

The tree was a popular tourist site as one of the most photographed trees in the country and had stood next to Hardian's Wall, a Unesco world heritage site, since the late 1800s.

Mr Renwick was questioned by Northumbria Police for the felling - but later released without charge.

The force then announced a "man in his 60s previously arrested on suspicion of criminal damage will now face no further action by police".

Yet, he said images appeared in the national press showing police searching his home near Haltwhistle and a chainsaw being removed.

He said it was "heartbreaking".

"There were police everywhere, drones flying around the valley, divers in the lake, they were 100% certain I'd done it.

"Every time I went shopping in Haltwhistle or Hexham, people were nudging each other and saying 'that's him that cut the tree down', stuff like that."

Mr Renwick even wore a disguise to hide his identity."I know it was daft but I put a Rod Stewart wig on so people didn't spot me," he told the BBC.

Mr Renwick also said the unfair accusation couldn't have come at a worse time.

He was evicted from Plankey Mill Farm near Bardon Mill, just a few miles from Hadrian's Wall, by landowners Jesuits in Britain.

His family had been there for decades, but the tenancy held by his grandfather and father had not passed to him.

He added: "I'd just lost everything I had, my cows, my sheep, my parents' stuff. I'd lost my home and then this,".

Jesuits in Britain said they made the "difficult decision" to evict Mr Renwick back in 2021.

They said they were "many attempts to engage with him".

They alleged "serious breaches of his tenancy, including unauthorised camping on the land, damage to the farmhouse and repeated refusal to allow inspections".

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Mr Renwick admitted he was running a campsite and multiple concerns were made about anti-social behaviour.

One of the complaints, he alleges, was from the National Trust which owns a neighbouring property and land at Sycamore Gap.

The National Trust told the BBC it would be "inappropriate to discuss our complaints procedure in relation to any individual".

Back in May, groundworker Daniel Graham, 39, from Carlisle and mechanic Adam Carruthers, 32, from Wigton, Cumbria, were found guilty of felling the beloved tree.

They both denied two counts each of causing criminal damage to the tree, valued at £620,000.

The court heard the men drove for 40 minutes from the Carlisle area during Storm Agnes and cut down the tree in the pitch black, with one of them filming the destruction on a phone.

They then took a wedge from the tree as a trophy which has never been recovered, the court heard.

They are due to be sentenced tomorrow.

The tree also damaged the Roman wall when it crashed down on to it.

The cutting of the tree - which appeared in 1991's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves - devastated locals.

But it is hoped it could yet have descendants.

Cuttings and salvaged seeds from the tree are showing positive signs of new growth.

Rare plant specialists have been working to propagate material taken from the iconic Sycamore Gap tree after it was felled in September.

While plants do not grow from seeds and cuttings around this time of year, the National Trust has said it has seen positive signs in the cuttings.

"After discovering the felled tree, our teams were quickly on the scene to collect material that would enable us to propagate from the tree," Andy Jasper, director of gardens and Parklands at the National Trust, said.

"This work is taking place in our specialist rare plant propagation nursery and although this wasn't really the right time of year to do this work, we are encouraged by positive signs of life, and are hopeful that over 30% of the mature seeds and half of the cuttings will be viable, which means we can hopefully grow new descendants from the tree in the future."

Northumberland National Park (NNP) said it had received 2,000 “heartfelt” messages from people all over the world who were saddened by the incident. 

The tree’s origins are thought to have dated back to medieval times and it has been previously excavated twice when Roman remains were found.