Issue with neighbour

[BFCtrucker]

Back story is I have not spoken to my neighbour for years due to an adjoining fence issue in the back garden that isn’t relative to my new issue but I need to make that clear regarding the relationship I have with them. In the front garden there is a 6 foot wide strip of soil, with various plants and bushes, where the unmarked legal border between our properties runs. In the soil on my side I had a mature Japanese Willow, that had been transferred from my back garden before a re-landscaping approximately 8 years ago, which was very well established. It hadn’t flowered this year so was bare. I came home from work yesterday and found it had disappeared. I checked my CCTV and found my neighbour had cut it down. Me going round to see the neighbour wouldn’t end up well as I would probably end up in trouble. What options do I have, if any, to follow this up? Could it be classed as criminal damage and it be a police matter? I am going to get in touch with the Citizens Advice next week but I wondered what people’s thoughts were. Not a happy bunny as you can imagine.

[atticus]

You may have heard in the news that cutting down someone else's tree can lead to conviction for criminal damage. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly38wr66dro)

Be careful how you escalate things with your neighbour. You have to live next door to him.