Hooded man caught on camera chopping down tree over 'row with birdfeeders' as homeowners left 'terrified'

A hooded man was caught on camera chopping down a tree outside of a homeowner's property after a "row over birdfeeders".

Residents of a block of flats in Ilford, east London watched on in horror as the man stood chopping the three-storey tree for a whopping five hours, according to those within the flats. The tree stood in a communal area outside of the flats, until the hooded figure chopped it down on February 14.

The man was filmed as he chopped the tree down and pulled birdfeeders and decorations from the branches. Police have also been contacted over the incident.

A neighbour, who filmed the hooded figure as they chopped the tree down, said: "It's crazy. He was just running around with an axe. He said the council told him to do it, which isn't true, but who is going to challenge him while he's there swinging his axe? Clarion, who own the estate, had just been and tidied up the tree a few weeks earlier.

"All the neighbours are really upset and it's pretty scary too. It was a lovely tree and we all took real good care of it. We're all gutted."

The neighbour, who remained unnamed, said that the tree was an important piece of nature for the residents of the flats, with many coming to decorate the branches during Christmas and the festive period.

He added: "We used to look out at the tree and birds flying all around it but now we can just see buildings. I'm sure he didn't like the little trinkets because he spent a lot of time smashing them up. It's really sad. We all loved that tree and we can't get it back."

A Clarion spokesperson said: “Our local neighbourhood team was alerted to a man cutting a tree on the Bracken Court estate in Ilford on the afternoon of Wednesday February 14. After it was established that this was not a Clarion planned work, we inspected the area and found the remains of the tree were a hazard. To make the area safe we completely removed the tree. "

A Metropolitan police spokesperson said: "This has been recorded as an allegation of criminal damage and officers have made an appointment to visit the person who made the report to obtain further details."