A bizarre-looking tree cut in half during a neighbourly dispute over bird droppings has seemingly become a tourist attraction in the Waterthorpe suburb of Sheffield, England.
According to reports, the now-famous half-cut tree made international news headlines for the first time three years ago, not only for its appearance but also for its origin of who it came to be.
Located on the edge of Bharat Mistry’s property, the tree extended its ‘crown’ into the driveway of Irene and Graham Lee. What seemed to be a shared natural aesthetic became a source of discontent between neighbours.
It’s understood that birds nesting in the 25-year-old fir tree had become a nuisance to the Lees, who are said to have been constantly cleaning their driveway of bird poop.
It’s reported that they took matters into their own hands and cut the overhanging branches from their driveway after previously attempted resolutions broke down.
Following the tree’s trim, its unusual appearance soon became an unlikely attraction for passersby, with images of the greener becoming viral attraction online.
It’s unclear whether the branches simply never grew back, or if the Lees just keep trimming them regularly, but the fir tree maintains its unusual look.
“I just think it’s funny. I think it’s been trimmed back again because you’d have thought it would have grown back by now,” one Waterhope woman told The Independent.
“It looks awful. They’re going to be at one another’s throats now, but it’s done, you can’t undo it. We’ve got a war on our hands with them two,” another neighbour said.
“We pleaded and pleaded with them not to do it, but their mind was made up,” he said. “That tree was coming down. I believe he has the right to cut down anything that is overhanging onto his property. But you have to ask, why after 25 years would you do that?”
“We’ve had a lot of people walking past to look at it, people you can just tell have come out of their way to walk their dog on a different route to have a look. People have stopped to take pictures, there has been a lot posted on social media,” Bharat added.
