Two men arrested after Christmas tree cut down hours after lights switch-on

Two men have been arrested after a beloved village Christmas tree was cut down just hours after its lights were switched on.

The tree had stood in Shotton Colliery, County Durham, for more than a decade.

It had grown from a sapling into a large tree – so large that the village was planning to replace the lights.

But it was felled sometime on Wednesday night, causing “huge upset”, according to Durham Police.

St Saviour’s, a local church, posted images of lights on the tree being turned on.

A message on their Facebook account said: “May the people who caused this be caught and punished by the authorities.”

In an update on Friday afternoon, the local Peterlee policing team said two men have been arrested in connection with the incident.

“The men, aged 23 and 26, have been taken into police custody where they will be interviewed by officers,” the force said on Facebook.

The police said they were “in the process of charging and remanding a 26-year-old male with criminal damage to the tree”.

A 23-year-old has since been released under investigation, the police said.