23 Apr 2003 - 01 Jan 2004
Barbecue Yobs Burn Down Queen's Ancient Oak
Richmond Park

A five-hundred-year old tree belonging to the Queen has been burnt down by thoughtless picnickers using disposable barbecues.

The oak tree stood in Richmond Park, in King Charles Spinney by the Pen Ponds and near the heart of the Park's Site of Special Scientific Interest.

A passer-by noticed the tree burning on Sunday 30th March and called the Parks Police and the Fire Brigade. But they were unable to save the tree but found the remains foil containers of two disposable barbecues in the ashes. Someone clearly enjoyed their barbecue and then dumped their smouldering rubbish in the hollow of the tree.

Ancient trees like this oak are not only visually stunning but are vital for protected animals such as bats and stag beetles. There are more ancient trees in Richmond Park than in Germany and France combined but the loss is still a blow to the ecology and history of the Park.

Park Manager, Simon Richards, said: "This tree had been there since before Queen Elizabeth I and it was probably like a block of flats for bats and insects. Now it's gone for good."

More than 25 fires were reported to the Royal Parks Constabulary in March. April is already looking equally bad as the weather improves. For ecological reasons deadwood is left on the ground, for beetles and other insects, but some people build fires out of it. Also disposable barbecues are leaving burnt patches all over the Park's grass.

Source:
The Royal Parks

For further information contact:
The Royal Parks Press Office T: 020 7298 2128 E: press@royalparks.gsi.gov.uk

Editor's notes:
Richmond Park covers 2,358 acres and is Europe's largest urban walled park (the wall is 8 miles long). Its origins as a place for royal deer hunting go back to Edward I (1272-1307) and it still retains a 650+ herd of deer (Red & Fallow). The continuous grazing by the deer has shaped the park's habitats, maintaining stunning views over rolling grasslands and majestic parkland trees.

Richmond Park is London's largest Site of Special Scientific Interest, a National Nature Reserve, a candidate European Special Area of Conservation and a Grade 1 Listed landscape.

Richmond Park supports a fantastic variety of habitats and species. The Park is reputed to have more ancient trees in it than France or Germany and these support a diverse community of wildlife, from beetles to fungi. Lowland acid grassland is a priority habitat in the Government's UK Biodiversity Action Plan, and Richmond Park has the best and largest area of such grassland it in Greater London, centred on Pen Ponds.

Species records for the Park include 49 grasses, rush and sedges; over 250 fungi; more than 1000 beetles; 546 butterflies and moths; 139 spiders; 144 birds; and 25 mammals. Several birds found in the central region of the Park are on the national Red (seriously threatened) or Amber (declining) lists, including the skylark, reed bunting, meadow pipit, starling, green woodpecker and kestrel. The Park supports 162 Red Data Book or Notable species of

Interfering with protected animals is an arrestable offence under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981.

The Monarch owns the eight Royal Parks. The Royal Parks, an Executive Agency of the Department of Culture, Media & Sport, is responsible for maintaining the Parks on a day to day basis.