The 300-year-old protected Aleppo Pine tree in Mellieħa that was torched by vandals over the past days can be saved.

Mellieħa mayor Robert Cutajar said Agriculture Department experts examined the tree yesterday and established that the branches had sustained most of the damage while the trunk and roots were untouched.

The tree would now be pruned and the delicate process to salvage it would begin, Mr Cutajar said.

The experts established that the tree is one of the most beautiful of its kind on the island because of the way it branches so majestically.

The police are investigating.

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