Sadness as tree planted in memory of young Lewes man vandalised

Joe Arnold was rescued from a fire at his flat in Spences Lane, Lewes, in the early hours of January 27.

The 29-year-old was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton where he sadly died from his injuries.

An inquest into his death on October 1, found he died of smoke inhalation.

This week, his parents David and Barbara Arnold expressed their sadness after a tree which had been planted in their son’s memory was vandalised.

The tree was provided by Lewes District Council where Joe worked in the Environmental Health Department.

David told the Express: “So soon after Joe’s inquest we’ve been very saddened to find that the tree planted in his memory beside Malling Playing Fields in Lewes has been vandalised in an apparent mindless act of destruction.

“It was a wonderful gesture by his colleagues at Lewes District Council.

“Myself and our family and friends were present just over a month after Joe’s death to see the tree planted. It was especially poignant because from the age of five or six our son played football on the adjacent playing fields and it was a place that gave us so many happy memories.”

David said around 300 people turned out for Joe’s funeral in late February and many visited the tree over the spring and summer.

He said he and Barbara were walking down by the Pells on their way to the tree last Sunday, when they bumped into a friend who was out walking with her family.

She told them they had just passed the playground but could not see the tree where they thought it was sited.

David said: “We assumed our friend had made a mistake.

“Unfortunately when we got to the playground we found that the tree trunk had been snapped off halfway up, leaving a splintered remnant about four feet high still attached to two stabilizer poles.

“The top of the tree was left lying on the ground close by.”

David said he assumed the damage was done last Friday or Saturday night.

“We were waiting to ensure the tree was thriving before putting a plaque on it in Joe’s name,” he told the Express.

“For this reason we believe it was a random act of mindless vandalism rather than an intentional attack on a memorial to our much-loved son.

“If whoever did it ever discovers the reason why the tree was planted maybe they will feel some remorse for their futile action.”

David said he and his family will now have to wait until the spring before replanting a replacement tree.

David writes the regular local history column County Yarns for the Sussex Express

He said: “By coincidence I’ve been featuring the contents of the new book on the Pells published by Lewes History Group.

“It’s an area of the town that holds so many pleasant memories for me that span nearly six decades.

“It’s sad that those memories have been somewhat tainted by what’s happened to our Joe’s tree.”