A 'heavily drunk' British army officer arrested this tree in Pakistan in 1898 - and it's still in chains

In 1898, a tree in the Khyber Rifles Officers Mess at Landi Kotal was arrested.

The walnut tree, draped in heavy chains that bind it o the ground, was arrested as an inebriated officer, James Squid, were convinced it was trying to flee.

In 2002, Captain Nasir Farooq, the Mess Secretary, told the Telegraph:

They were sure this tree was running away to Peshawar, so they ordered the Sergeant to put it under arrest. The tree is still under arrest.

It remains so today, 118 years later:

A plaque on the tree reads:

'I AM UNDER ARREST.'

One evening a British officer, heavily drunk, thought that I was moving from my original location and ordered Mess Sergeant to arrest me. Since then I am under arrest.

The story has been covered many times over the years, presented as a remarkable colonialist hangover.

HT World News Report

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