"Helpful" neighbours

[Darwin.]

When we were kids we used to jump on our Geannies bushes because they were spongy, it was great fun. After a while they stopped being spongy and became a bit flat and squashed looking. We just ran off and said nothing. Kids do that sort of thing without meaning anything bad or expecting anything bad to happen. If that's what happened it's annoying but not a lot could be done about it.

Parents covering up for them is another story though. You can't prove that's what happened but it's looking likely. It's a cowardly act if that is what happened.

[Dusty Rhodes]

You need to make a police report! If you don't and it WAS your neighbours, they may do it again.

If it was pruned, there would be clean sharp cuts. If kids vandalized it, there would be obvious signs of the branches being snapped off. That would be your answer right there.

[zazen999]

I'd have been checking their brown bin [ours is brown, yours might be another colour] for contents that look just like your tree.

[out in the cold]

If you do replace the tree, next time you are talking to the neighbour, make sure you "casually" mention that you had to replace the tree with a different variety due to the exorbitant cost of buying an exact replacement.

Big up the price and the fact that it was a rare specimen.

Make out that you are a fortune out of pocket, but would have been thousands for a replacement

[Feral007]

I'm feeling a bit narky today, but I would be letting them know that I'd contacted the police, and I'd probably say I had a Treecam installed (after buying it on fleabay) so that I could catch the culprits red handed, and really get them! But as I said, I'm a bit narky today, so you might want to tone it down a little :/

[Alison]

You need to make a police report! If you don't and it WAS your neighbours, they may do it again.

Personally I'd be more worried if it was somebody other than the neighbours. The OP has spoken to his neighbours, if it was them (of which there is no proof anyway, just a gut feeling) then they have been made aware that it was a problem which would reduce the chances of them doing it again but if it wasn't them then it could be a more random type of vandalism that could happen to anybody else too and to date there has been no come back on the perpetrator.