The Yorkshire neighbor’s row and the tree cut in half that became a tourist attraction

A tree cut in half in a Sheffield suburb has become a tourist attraction after a years-long dispute over the plant.

The tree was cut in half following a year-long dispute between Bharat Mistry and his neighbors Irene and Graham Lee, both in their 70s. Taking place at their Waterthorpe homes, the row culminated in the Lees cutting off half the branches of the 25-year-old tree in 2021.

According to Mr Mistry, the couple were upset about the tree-nesting birds littering their driveway with droppings.

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Three years on, many locals still say they see visitors popping into the quiet cul-de-sac to catch a glimpse of the tree, which has remained chopped in half ever since. It even has a Google Maps tourist attraction tag, complete with its own reviews.

One reviewer left a three-star rating and said: “Interesting tree that was cut in half due to an argument between the two neighbours.

“The story also went over the news and it was exciting to visit the location and see the news turn into real life.

“Google Street View hasn’t been updated since 10 years ago, so you can see the original tree before it was cut down.

“It’s not worth the long drive, but if you’re in the area, it’s worth a visit.”

Neighbors say the pair of families have not mended their relationship years after the initial fight. Neither family responded to reporters this week.

One woman, who did not want to be named, said: “I think it’s funny. I think it was cut again because you would have thought it would have grown back by now.

“I think now it’s like a landmark. You get all the walkers to come and they all come down the street to take a look. They go up to it and take pictures.

“Even when the houses were put up for sale, they used it as a steering tool and said ‘it’s by that half of the tree.’ He’s become famous, so he might as well keep it that way now.”

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Another neighbor added: “They are both nice neighbours, I wave them both down.

“When it first happened, people were walking down the street and passing slowly to get a good look.

“It’s worn off a bit now, people have got used to it, but you still see people have a nose.

“I think people are just amazed that two neighbors who used to like each other fought over this and it went this far.

“I can understand them both – he wanted his beautiful tree that was shaped and well maintained, and the other one shines his driveway and washes his car.

“He puts his car there and the birds have gone into the tree and it’s not even his tree.

“They both keep their gardens beautiful so you can understand both points of view.

“But when you walk by, they both wave at you, they’re both nice people.”

Attention around the tree first spread when a photo of it was sent to Jeremy Vine’s Channel 5 TV show in 2021, quickly spreading across social media. Meanwhile, Mr Mistry said in 2021 that he was “absolutely upset” when the tree was felled.

According to him, his family watched as tree surgeons cut the branches. He said: “We begged and begged them not to do this, but it was decided. That tree was coming down.

“I think he has the right to cut everything that’s on top of his property. But you have to ask yourself, why after 25 years would you do that? It must have been no more than 3 feet on his land.

“It’s above head height, the bottom of the branches start at about 8ft high and I cut the branches lower to be kind to them. He can get in and out of his car without any problems.

“We asked if we could cut it back and put a net in it so it would keep the birds out, but there was no compromise with them. It’s been there for 25 years and we cut into a ball shape with the neighbor deal and he’s been good about it.

“But recently there have been birds in the tree that you would expect at this time of year. He started by putting black litter on the tree to stop the birds that hang out there.

“It’s very sad to watch because the tree has been there for so long and it’s a very nice tree.

“We’ve had loads of people come by to look at it, people you can tell have just gone out of their way to walk their dog on another route to have a look. People stopped to take pictures, there were many posted on social media.

“You think we’d probably do the same if it was another house, but it feels a bit like an invasion of privacy.”