Police are investigating the "bizarre" early hours chopping down of a tree on a main road in south Belfast.
The tree, in front of the Centra on the Ormeau Road, was cut down in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
South Belfast Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw said: "It appears that someone, who was on their own and dressed in dark clothing, came to the tree in the middle of the night and used a hand saw to chop it down. It was very deliberate and seems quite bizarre.
"Councillor Micky Murray and I have been speaking with the police and DfI (Depatment for Infrastructure) regarding the incident and hope that the tree will be removed and replaced as soon as possible."
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Botanic SDLP councillor Gary McKeown added that "some idiot chopped down a street tree in the dead of the night on the Ormeau Road".
Mr McKeown said: "This is mindless vandalism and an attack on the community, with people living on the Ormeau Road waking up to find that this street tree was felled in the dead of night and was left lying across the pavement.
'I've no idea why anyone would do this, or what they hoped to achieve. This tree was pretty mature, so it would have taken quite a bit of effort to destroy it.
"Coming on the back of the theft of the sculpture from outside Ormeau Road Library the week before, it's really disappointing that this area is being robbed of things that really add to its character by people who have no respect for their neighbours.
"We've spoken to the council and asked them to plant a new tree, but it'll be some time before any replacement grows to the size of the old one."
Enquiries are continuing into this incident, the PSNI said.
"We are appealing to anyone who was in the area between 2.00 am and 3.00am on Wednesday morning and noticed anyone or anything suspicious."
