A FAMILY has been left devastated after vandals destroyed a rare tree planted in memory of a pilot who died in an air crash.

Nicholas Wong, 25, and a friend died when their aircraft developed engine trouble and plunged into the sea off the coast of Iceland five years ago.

His parents, Wilfred and Sylvia, arranged for his ashes to be buried under a Chinese gingko biloba tree in Hove Park, not far from their home in Tongdean Lane.

There are believed to be only two other examples of the tree, which can grow to 100ft, in the Brighton and Hove area.

Nicholas, a former Hurstpierpoint College pupil, was a commercial pilot who had set up an aerial photgraphy business with a friend in the United States.

He also used to ferry aircraft across the Atlantic and was flying from Holland to Iceland, then back to Tennessee when he died.

Just days before the crash on October 12, 1994, he had stopped off in England to visit Wilfred, 66, an engineer, and Syliva, 57, a languages teacher at Hurstpierpoint College.

The tree, which had grown to 16ft, was snapped off just 3ft from the roots by vandals in Hove Park on Saturday night.

The tragedy was discovered by Nicholas' sister Anna, 27, as she walked the family dog the next morning.

Mr Wong said: "We are all very upset. It is like Nicholas has died again. The tree meant a lot to us because his ashes were buried under it. We felt that he lived on through the tree because the nutrients from his ashes fed and nourished it.

"The council has been very understanding and has said we can plant a replacement, which we will do.

"But it can never have exactly the same meaning for us because Nicholas would not be a part of it in the same way as he was the

original tree."

Mr Wong added: "A lot of people who use Hove Park knew about the tree and have taken the trouble to send us cards and tell us how sorry they are it has been destroyed."

Anyone with information is asked to call PC Mark Gorring at Hove police station on 0845 60 70 999.

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