A Northumberland photographer has raised more than £5,000 from sales of a calendar he created after the felling of Sycamore Gap in September.

The tree, which stood in a dip on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland National Park, was one of the most photographed trees in the country before it was cut down in what Northumbria Police have called a "deliberate act of vandalism". And few have taken more photographs of the tree in recent years than Wil Cheung, who leads the stargazing sessions at the beauty spot's closest pub, The Twice Brewed Inn.

He has taken pictures of the Sycamore Gap tree in all seasons and weathers, including during the Geminids Meteor Shower in 2022 with temperatures hitting -9°C. Earlier this year, he had an exhibition at the Queen's Hall Arts Centre in Hexham which showcased the wonders of the universe, as well as his photographs of the landmark tree.

• Read more: Two months on from Sycamore Gap felling - how the North East has reacted and what happens now

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And he regularly shared pictures of Sycamore Gap through his social media channels, with hundreds of people contacting him in the hope of buying prints after the tree was felled. However, Wil said that he "wasn't comfortable" in profiting from the tree's demise, and after conversations with friends, he decided instead to make a calendar and donate all proceeds to the National Trust.

He has since sold more than 900 calendars at a minimum of £12 each, though some people have donated more. Wil told ChronicleLive: "I remember asking my close friends, should I do it?, because it felt too soon.

"But my friends said people wanted something they can remember the tree by and you've taken some really nice photographs. So I said I'll create one, but all the money has to go to charity."

Wil's initial target was to sell 250, but after "huge demand" he decided to print 1,000, and that he would absorb any costs "out of his own pocket" should any remain unsold. He has worked with a company in Preston named Eyecatchers, who have agreed to print the calendars at cost price, meaning that more can be donated to charity.

Wil continued: "It's been an amazing response, absolutely incredible. I think personally, it'd be nice to hit 1,000.

"It's worldwide too, I've had some orders from New Zealand and quite a few Americans. When it got felled, I was inundated with messages from around the world because I was featuring the tree so often, a lot of people knew about it because of my Facebook page and they couldn't believe it had been felled."

Wil admitted that he is still feeling "numb" after the tree was felled overnight between September 27 and 28. He said: "I'm still struggling, I talk about the tree every single night at stargazing and I show photographs of the tree.

"It's still very, very tough but one horrible act has resulted in thousands and thousands of kind acts so we're turning it into some sort of positive energy. I'm really happy that at least the tree is going to be on people's walls, they can see it every day looking at the calendar and it's all in different seasons, and that brings me a bit of happiness that the tree sort of lives on in a way."

Andrew Poad, general manager for National Trust Hadrian's Wall and Tyne Valley, said: "We've been overwhelmed by all of the offers of support and donations we've received in response to the felling of the tree at Sycamore Gap. We know how special and important the tree was to the community, local businesses and people across the UK, and we’re very grateful to Wil and everyone who has bought a calendar and donated to help celebrate its legacy and look after this special site."

Wil's fundraiser is not the only one that has raised money for the National Trust in an attempt to preserve the legacy of the famous tree. The Twice Brewed Inn's fundraising efforts surpassed £10,000 earlier this month, while a further £4,685 has been raised (at the time of writing) by Alnwick-based business Alncom.

The National Trust has confirmed that a 3D scan of the Sycamore Gap tree will allow them to create a branch for branch replica following a public consultation. However, a final decision on what will be done in the area is yet to be made. So far, four arrests have been made in connection with the "deliberate vandalism", with Northumbria Police confirming that the first to be arrested, a 16-year-old boy, will face no further action.