Police are looking for the person or persons who took an axe to almost 80 trees in Amersfoort on New Year’s Eve.

Most of the trees at the Elisabeth Groen park and the surrounding area, including a number of rare apple trees, will not survive the attack, a council spokesman told local broadcaster RTV Utrecht. A  mature oak and birch may be nursed back to health with extra care.

Replacing the trees will cost around €100,000, the council estimates.

The trees have been mutilated in what were ‘sustained attacks’ lasting minutes and aimed at killing the trees, the park foundation said on its website. The foundation has asked people to donate money to replace the trees.

There are CCTV cameras in place near some of the damaged trees but it is unclear if the perpetrator can be seen on any of the footage.