Vandals have been blasted for snapping a newly planted tree in half on a housing estate.

A row of semi-mature trees has been planted along Flora Road and Bramble Road, Witham, as part of a project to refurbish the nearby children’s play area.

But one of the trees has been broken, despite being sheltered by a protective cage.

Bill Rose, district councillor for Witham West, said: “I have been campaigning for quite a while and funding for the trees was agreed over a year ago.

“It is just annoying seeing this happen after we had gone to all the trouble of arranging it."