Tree sawed in half due to dispute unexpectedly becomes tourist attraction

In 2021, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, people stayed home more. At that time, Mr. Mistry's neighbors kept complaining about the birds in the trees making noise and dropping droppings on their property.

Knowing that the tree's canopy overhanging his neighbor's house by about a meter was wrong, Mr. Mistry promised to trim it and put up nets to keep the birds out. However, his neighbor refused.

"We were confused and begged them not to cut down the tree, but they were determined," Mr. Mistry said regretfully, recalling the moment the 25-year-old pine tree was destroyed.

At the end of June of that year, the neighbor hired a worker to trim half of the tree's canopy, the part that protruded onto his property.

Mistry said he had cut ties with his neighbor.

The image of the tree was later posted on social media with the caption: "A bit of traditional British pettiness exposed." The image and account have since been deleted. However, social media users still spread the image at a dizzying speed, when someone sent it to a TV channel.

Mistry’s daughter said that the photo had made her family famous on social media. People even took different routes to walk their dogs so they could stop by Mistry’s house to see the tree.

Although the incident happened three years ago, locals say many curious tourists still come here to see the tree "sawn in half".

It's even tagged as a tourist attraction on Google Maps and has received plenty of reviews from visitors.