Tree cut down in Montreal bike burglary

Bike thefts aren't uncommon in Montreal, but it's not every day that a tree is victimized in the process.

Earlier this week, a bike chained to a sapling in Montreal's Plateau neighbourhood appears to have been stolen after the tree was sawed in half.

The young tree was planted on Rivard Street, near Laurier Avenue.

Before-and-after photos of the event were shared earlier this week on Vélo Volé, a Facebook page that tracks bike thefts across the city. The poster, who is not the bike's owner, took the intial photo to document a broken rule, and noticed the bike was gone the following morinng. 

Securing your bike to a tree is a no-go in Montreal, as is chaining it to street furniture such as benches.

In light of the recent tree-trauma, city councillor Tan Shan Li reminded the public of this fact on Twitter Thursday.

"Bicycle and padlock can damage the trunk of young trees and impair sap circulation," she wrote, adding that "unscrupulous thieves [can] saw off the tree and steal the bike."