TREE TV could catch vandals ripping down vegetation along the Beaumaris foreshore, under a proposal by an exasperated conservationist.

Beaumaris Conservation Society treasurer Geoffrey Goode suggested surveillance cameras on lamp posts overlooking vegetation would help deter vandals and prove who had damaged trees.

Mr Goode’s call for greater surveillance comes in the wake of the latest incidence of tree vandalism along the foreshore.

Bayside Council has launched an investigation into an incident on a section near Charman Road.

Bayside City strategy director Shiran Wickramasinghe said a resident reported the vandalism on August 12 and that the same patch had been hacked in the past.

Mr Wickramasinghe said trees and shrubs were snapped by hand and trees cut off at ground level with a hand saw.

Boobialla, tea-trees and sheoaks had been damaged but no poison was detected.

He said police would be notified once arborists had assessed the damage.

Illegal tree removal is a perennial problem along the foreshore as vandals destroy vegetation to get clearer views of Port Phillip Bay.

More than 20 trees were vandalised along Beaumaris foreshore last year.

A case is to be heard next month before Moorabbin Magistrate’s Court concerning trees attacked around Bonleigh Avenue and Martin Street on Brighton’s foreshore.

Mr Goode said the frequent vandalism was baffling. ‘‘I’m shocked, this is happening far too often,’’ he said.

To protect foreshore vegetation, the council has strict rules covering pruning, poisoning, removal or root damage.

The council increased its reward for evidence leading to prosecution for illegal tree damage to $20,000 in May this year.

The council had previously considered rewards of up to $100,000 for information about tree vandalism.

Under local law, the maximum fine for tree vandalism is up to $2000, and almost $150,000 under the state’s Planning and Environment Act.