PRECIOUS oak trees have been chopped down by vandals in a Silkstone wood.
Two youths were sent packing by a parish councillor after they were spotted with a wheelbarrow and tools in Jays Wood.
They told him they were ‘making a cycle track’.
A later check by a conservation volunteer showed two young oaks had been felled.
“These are the very things we are trying to save,” Coun Derek Liddell told Monday’s meeting of Silkstone parish council.
Chairman Meryl Liddell appealed to everyone to watch out for such activities.
Bill Barkworth, chairman of Silkstone’s award-winning CARE volunteers, found the oaks dumped in the wood.
“I assume they would have been in the way of a cycle track,” he said.
“It is such a shame. The wood is full of silver birch and we are trying to grow other species - including oaks - to make it more attractive and diverse. This is why we are trying to save the oaks.
“I am also worried as there is a population of frogs in a damp area and we are trying to ensure their conservation by keeping people away. The track would have gone right through their habitat so it’s a good job Derek Liddell stopped them.”
Jays Wood used to belong to Barnsley Council but was taken over by the parish council with CARE in charge of management.
“It is parish council property and anyone would need permission to put a cycle track or anything else in there,” said Mr Barkworth.
He said CARE will replace the oaks, using a grant and saplings from the Woodland Trust.
“Coun Meryl Liddell is right - everyone should watch out for such activities in the wood and other places,” he said. “Jays Wood is a wonderful community asset.”
