Grieving family "angry" after North Devon tree planted in memory of grandmother attacked

A grieving family has been left “angry” after a tree planted in North Devon in memory of their grandmother was attacked by vandals for the second time in two years.

Daniel Snow and his family planted the tree in Irsha Street, Appledore, in February last year after the death of Jean Williams, 78, in 2020.

Fewer than 48 hours later, the tree was vandalised with weed killer and the trunk was cut. It was replaced this March.

However, Torridge District Council contacted Daniel on April 19 to say the tree had been attacked again.

He said: “It makes us very angry and obviously very upset. I’m from a very big family so this affects a lot of people.

“I’ve got five brothers and my grandmother had five kids so there’s lots of aunties and uncles, there was a lot of people who were angry and upset.

“This is disappointing because the upset the first attack caused is out there already so for it to happen again brings those emotions back.

“It’s very disappointing and unbelievable it’s happened for a second time.

“Someone has cut all the stump in an attempt to ring bark the tree which is to stop the water and nutrients reaching the top.”

The majority of the family is based in Liverpool but regularly went on holiday to Appledore, Westward Ho!, and Bideford.

Daniel says the family continue to holiday there as they have fond memories of the area although he admits they’ve been “tarnished” by the attacks on the tree.

He said: “I suppose in some ways, yes [I regret it] because of the issues it’s caused.

“It has tarnished the memory of what we intended to do.

“I don’t think that it means we should get rid of the tree because that justifies that action - there’s another tree nearby so who’s to say they wouldn’t do that again?

“Maybe we’ll look as a family at having a different memorial elsewhere but we won’t remove the tree just because someone’s got their back up.”

Daniel and his family replaced the tree this spring as they were in North Devon for his brother’s wedding.

The 34-year-old said the memorial tree’s site was one of Jean’s favourites.

He said: “We’ve always been on holiday there for about 30 years as a family so my grandmother’s always been with us.

“It seemed like a good spot because we wanted to continue going on holiday there even though she wouldn’t be with us any more.

“We wanted to continue going down because we have a lot of memories down there with my grandmother like getting fish and chips in Appledore and sitting on the front.

“There are a lot of memories we have which we thought would’ve added to it and it’s a nice spot to go and remember her.

“It is at one of her favourite spots, it’s very peaceful, very quiet, you can hear the birds, it’s right by the sea.

“When the council suggested that spot to us, it was perfect and ticked all the boxes.”

Daniel is determined to find who is responsible for the attack and is offering a reward for anyone who provides information to help capture them.

People can also contact Crimestoppers and quote crime reference number 50240092954.

Sean Kearney, Head of Communities and Place at Torridge District Council, said: “It is unbelievably disappointing to think that, for the second time, the memorial tree in Irsha street could have been deliberately damaged in this way.

“The matter has been reported to the Police as a potential act of criminal damage and until they have completed their investigations it would be inappropriate to comment further.”