Vandals deliberately chop down blossom tree in community garden run by Yorkshire refugee charity

Volunteers at a Yorkshire charity that helps refugees and asylum seekers have spoken of their shock at an act of mindless vandalism.
Grace Newton
By Grace Newton
Published 31st May 2022, 11:39 BST

A blossom tree in the community garden at the St Augustine's Centre in Halifax was deliberately felled with tools and a fence ripped down.

The charity, which was founded as a church playgroup in 1968 and now offers English classes and support for new arrivals to Calderdale, posted on Twitter: "Enough is enough. Today we discovered our beautiful blossom tree had been chopped down last night. No reason. Just mindless vandalism in a garden we maintain and leave open for local people to enjoy. It’s a green sanctuary in an urban area.

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"Yes we have CCTV. Yes we have engaged the police, our MP, youth service, council, community wardens, local residents on several occasions. Each have tried to help in some way but the issue never seems to reach the point of resolution. The fencing was vandalised too.

The blossom tree was felled with a toolThe blossom tree was felled with a tool
The blossom tree was felled with a tool
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"Our work is about building community, on the foundations of trust and respect for all - whoever you are. So it’s especially galling when a tiny minority abuse that trust. They are not reflective of the vast majority of brilliant and caring people living around our centre.

"But it’s exhausting for our team, especially when there are no repercussions for the perpetrators. Is the only answer to put up a big fence? Or are there other solutions that don’t pull us away from our core work supporting people seeking sanctuary? We’ll miss that blossom tree."