Men who chopped down historic tree jailed for four years
Now, Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32 will spend four years in jail for the deliberate, 'moronic' act of vandalism that saw the iconic and much-loved tree felled.
On the dark and stormy night of September 28, 2023, the pair – armed with a chainsaw – travelled to a field near Crag Lough in Northumberland, England.
There, sounds muffled by the sounds of Storm Agnes, they chopped down the majestic sycamore tree that toppled onto the nearby Hadrian's Wall.
The pair were each convicted of destroying the tree and damaging the ancient wall, which was built by the Romans almost 2,000 years ago and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Judge Christina Lambert sentenced the pair in Newcastle Crown Court to four years and three months for what prosecutors described as a 'moronic mission' on Tuesday, local time.
Judge Lambert said there was a high degree of premeditation but the motive remained unclear.
Rejecting a claim by Carruthers that he was drunk, she said the pair had likely done it for the 'sheer bravado'.
'Felling the tree in the middle of the night and in the middle of a storm gave you some sort of thrill,' she said.
'You revelled in the coverage, taking evident pride in what you had done, knowing that you were responsible for the crime which so many were talking about.'
It is understood the act was filmed on Graham's mobile phone, with messages between the pair revelling in the act read to the jury.
Graham and Carruthers had denied the offence before accepting responsibility when speaking to probation officers, their lawyers said.
It was the first time in the UK that someone had been sent to prison for illegally felling a tree.
The Sycamore Gap tree, which used to sit between two hills in the far north of England, was a much-loved spot to locals, for picnics, birthdays, proposals or to spread ashes.
It saw a rise to fame after appearing in Kevin Costner's 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, and was voted English 'Tree of the Year' in 2016.
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