TEC News Quote of the Day
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
– Martin Luther King Jr.
Petty Dispute in Sheffield Created an Unlikely Tourist Attraction
TEC News| Sheffield, UK
What began as a bitter neighborhood dispute has unexpectedly turned into one of the city’s quirkiest tourist attractions — a bizarre half-tree that’s now drawing attention far beyond the quiet cul-de-sac where it stands.
TEC News gathered that, the saga dates back to 2021, when retired couple Irene and Graham Lee, both in their 70s, took drastic action over a long-standing grievance with their next-door neighbor, Bharat Mistry. The issue? Bird droppings.
The Lees, frustrated that birds nesting in Mistry’s towering 16-foot fir tree were messing up their spotless driveway, decided they had had enough. Despite Mistry’s offers to find a compromise — including trimming the tree or installing bird netting — the Lees hired tree surgeons to remove precisely the half of the tree that extended over their property.
The result was shocking. The once-lush fir was left sliced clean down the middle, a surreal and almost cartoonish sight that stunned the neighborhood. The Mistry family watched helplessly as what they considered a cherished family tree was turned into a literal symbol of division.
Three years later, the infamous “half-tree” has taken on a life of its own. It now appears on Google Maps as a local landmark, complete with tourist reviews. One visitor noted it was “worth paying a visit” and gave it a three-star rating.
Locals say curious visitors often stop by to snap photos and marvel at the precision of the cut. Some real estate agents in the area even reference it as a landmark, describing homes as being “just steps away from the half-tree.”
Despite the ongoing silence between the Lees and the Mistrys, the tree remains — standing not only as a physical reminder of a neighborly rift but as an unintentional monument to passive-aggressive revenge gone viral, summarizing a conclusion of a shift ‘From Feud to Fame’.
