The family of a former lumberjack accused of felling the Sycamore Gap Tree claim he would not be fit enough to chop it down because he has leaking heart valves.
Detectives have been working around the clock to find out who is behind the shocking felling of the beloved tree, which stood in a dip along Hadrian’s Wall.
Walter Renwick, 69, who was arrested in connection with the felling of the tree has been bailed and declared his innocence as he returned home to a farm where police found a large chainsaw.
When he was in custody, his ‘livid’ daughter-in-law Lauren said he was there for something he ‘hasn’t even done’.
‘He’s got two leaking heart valves. He’s never fit enough to get up there,’ she told the Times. ‘He’s down here living like f*****g Bear Grylls.’
Walter Renwick, 69, who was arrested in connection with the felling of the tree has been bailed
Detectives have been working around the clock to find out who is behind the shocking felling of the beloved tree, which stood in a dip along Hadrian’s Wall
Renwick was seen back at Plankey Mill Farm with pictures and video showing him standing topless outside a caravan on the property.
Officers spent three days scouring an adjoining property he was evicted from last week.
And minutes before the former lumberjack turned up they confiscated a 3ft chainsaw and other possible evidence.
He was bailed on Sunday afternoon and was driven back to his campervan where he declared his innocence, shouting: ‘I know I’m f*****g innocent, right, and that’s all I need to know.’
Renwick has vehemently denied being responsible for the downing of the 300-year-old tree.
‘My chainsaw’s down here by that barn door, but you can see that it hasn’t been used for ages,’ he said on Friday.
Walter Renwick, 69, returned to Plankey Mill Farm, with pictures and video showing him standing topless outside a caravan on the property
Renwick was arrested on Friday night – just hours after telling reporters ‘You’ve got the wrong feller’.
Specialist search teams descended on his former property at the weekend and police were still present on Sunday, with cordons seen sealing off parts of the farm.
Renwick, who has lived on the nearby farm his entire life, was evicted last week following a long-running dispute and now lives in a campervan nearby.
In a series of statements, Renwick has strongly refuted that he was behind the vandalism of the nearby tree.
Reacting to social media gossip, he said: ‘The speculation is bloody ridiculous. I’ll tell you this much, I wouldn’t be so sad to do that.’
Renwick said: ‘It was a lovely tree, an iconic tree, but I mean to go up there and cut that down, I’m not that stupid.’