Police investigate damage to Ancaster conservation site
Branches have been cut from some trees, which are hundreds of years old.
Lincolnshire Police are investigating damage to a 'Site of Scientific Interest' at Ancaster Valley.
Branches have been cut from trees, some of which are hundreds of years old, and rubbish, tyres and wood have been dumped at the site.
Police believe the damage has been caused at some point in the past two weeks.
As the area is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, courts can apply unlimited fines to anyone convicted of causing the damage.
Detective Constable Aaron Flint added: "These sites are extremely fragile and highly vulnerable to damage. We will be working closely with Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust to identify the offenders and bring them to justice. This is not only a mindless and selfish act of vandalism but also serious crime against our environment.
"We take all reports of wildlife crime very seriously. We would encourage anyone who has been in this area in the last two weeks and may have any information, not matter how irrelevant you may feel it is, to contact us on 101."
Rachel Shaw, spokesman for Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, said: "This is a senseless act of vandalism to a wonderful nature reserve. It's also a drain on our resources as it's likely to be costly to remove, and, most concerning of all, the damage to the trees and shrubs will have a long term impact.
"A number of trees have had branches removed and bark damage that may affect their survival. The shrubs that have been damaged are box. Box is very slow growing and unfortunately some of the stems cut and damaged are over 100 years old so will take a long time to regenerate."