TALLINN (AFP) - A mystery woodcutter has sawn halfway through about 50 trees in a cemetery in the Estonian capital Tallinn, leaving them liable to fall on and possibly kill visitors in strong winds, officials said.
"The trees have been cut halfway through so that they still stand but would fall down in strong winds," Jaak Taevas, head of Tallinn cemeteries, told reporters.
"There is criminal intent behind this, as any visitor could become a victim if such a tree suddenly were to fall down," Taevas said.
The mystery feller has been in action at the Liiva cemetery over the past two months but no one has seen him in action.
"The trees have most probably been cut with a small saw, at the height of a person's chest," Taevas said.
Cemetery workers start each ..........
.......... working day by checking trees, and cordon off any that may have been cut before removing it.
On some of the affected trees, a circle has been carved into the bark.
Many plaques, crosses and benches on graves have been damaged by fallen trees but no visitors have been injured, Taevas said.
The cemetery administration has announced of a reward of 10,000 kroons (640 euros, 780 dollars) for tips that would cut short the vandal's dangerous tree felling activity.
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