Vandals hit Spanish Banks topping 8 large trees

Vancouver police and the city are investigating after eight large trees at Spanish Banks were topped by vandals sometime in the last few days.

Director of parks Howard Normann said some of the trees will never recover. 

"[The height cut off ranges] anywhere from 24 inches to six or seven feet," he said. 'But the issue is that these trees are now damaged and will never grow to be mature trees."

Normann said some of the trees were "very tall" and that perpetrators would have gone through quite a bit of effort to cut off the tops. 

The trees were a valuable fixture along Spanish Banks, according to Normann, providing shade in the summer and serving as a dust block and barrier between the beach and grassy area. 

"We'll try to get to the bottom of it and prosecute to the full extent of the law," he said. "These aren't somebody's personal trees. These are trees that belong to the citizens of Vancouver." 

The Vancouver Park Board is asking for the public's help, hoping someone has video of the incident.

With files from Tim Weekes