A CHARITY that planted 76 trees has been left appalled to discover that every single one has been stolen right out of the ground.
Friends of the River Tyne, a registered charity working to look after the River Tyne, planted the young saplings along the bank of the river in January.
A project ran by the charity saw 800 trees planted along the river across just three days back in January.
A total of 76 of these trees were planted on an eastern stretch of the 73-mile-long river near Gifford, East Lothian by volunteers and charity workers.
Returning to check on the health of the trees the charity was left stunned to discover they had all been swiped.
Reporting on social media the charity stated that the tree guards they had paid for were bent out of shape.
They also said that the trees had been carefully lifted from the ground, ruling out an act of vandalism.
It’s unclear who stole the young saplings or why, with no trace of the thieves found on the scene.
The Friends of the River Tyne took to social media to report the crime to locals yesterday.
They said: “Absolutely disgusted.
“On checking the trees planted on the east banks from Gifford Water towards the town at Westfield that we planted in January this year, 76 trees have had guards bent and the saplings have all been stolen, removed carefully from the holes.
“So disappointed. People donated trees and we Friends of the River Tyne purchased the guards and stakes and volunteers gave their time and effort to plant these.”