THE remains of Sid the sycamore will be unceremoniously scattered across the borough of Eastleigh.

A year-long campaign to save the 72-year-old tree ended in defeat when it was given the chop on Easter Monday to make way for a new dance studio at The Point.

As revealed by the Daily Echo the cost of felling the tree and bringing in security for the five-hour long operation was about £3,000.

Sid will be turned into wood mulch but campaigners are angry that there will be no permanent memorial to a much-loved tree which was planted to celebrate Eastleigh becoming a borough.

They say the tree, on the edge of the Leigh Road Recreation Ground, was an important part of the borough's heritage and history.

F reelance photographer Matthew Myatt, who spearheaded the Save Sid campaign, said: "It would have been right to recycle this wood into a park bench as a lasting memorial to Sid."

In his bid to save the controversial tree Mr Myatt had climbed into the branches and staged a ten-hour vigil.

An Eastleigh Council spokesman said: "Wood from the sycamore tree will be turned into mulch and will be used at various locations throughout the borough to help suppress weeds and conserve water."

The council have not specified where these sites will be but there are likely to be in open space areas to help stop weeds attacking the local landscape.

Mulch is a protective cover placed over the soil which controls weeds by blocking the sunlight and also acts as a temperature gauge.