Gunnedah Mayor Owen Hasler has expressed his disappointment over the damage to 15 Crepe Myrtles lining Links Road, which were snapped off during a vandalism incident on Friday night.
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The trees form a beautiful outburst of pink when they flower and had just reached a stage of mature growth when they were broken.
“It’s very disappointing for everybody,” Cr Hasler said.
“It’s a very attractive line of Crepe Myrtles. Some of them were quite thick.”
The trees were damaged in a section between Stock Road and Palmer Crescent.
They were planted by council six years ago and most of them were getting to a stage where they were flowering and looking colourful.
It’s not the first time the trees have been vandalised, having been targeted at least twice before.
Some local residents took the initiative to try and salvage the trees by taping them up, and Cr Hasler said there is some glue that can be used to help trees regrow.
“I think the fact that some people made the effort to try and do something about it shows people’s pride.”
The issue was raised at Tuesday’s Crime Prevention Committee meeting.
“What motivates these people and what satisfaction they get, I just can’t put any justification on it,” Cr Hasler said.
