Two men who cut down Sycamore Gap tree jailed for more than four years

South Wales Guardian

15-07-2025

Former friends Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, were convicted of criminal damage to the much-loved tree, which had stood for more than 100 years in a fold in the Northumberland landscape.
They were also convicted of criminal damage to Hadrian's Wall, caused when the sycamore fell on the ancient monument in September 2023.
Newcastle Crown Court heard the two engaged in a 'moronic mission' to cut down the landmark, travelling for more than 40 minutes from their homes in Cumbria, then carrying their equipment across pitch-black moorland during a storm in September 2023.
They took a wedge from the tree as a trophy that has never been recovered, and revelled in the media coverage as news of the vandalism caused national and international headlines.
On Tuesday Mrs Justice Lambert jailed the pair, saying their motivation was still not clear but a large factor seemed to be 'sheer bravado'.
She told the defendants: 'Felling the tree in the middle of the night in a storm gave you some sort of thrill.
'You revelled in the coverage, taking pride in what you have done, knowing you were responsible for the crime so many people were talking about.
'Whether that was the sole explanation for what you did, I do not know, however I know you are both equally culpable.'
The judge said that, after admissions they had both made in pre-sentence reports, she could now be sure that Adam Carruthers cut the Sycamore Gap tree down while Daniel Graham drove him there and filmed it on his phone.
She told them: 'Adam Carruthers, you told a probation officer you had no idea why you carried out the crime and could offer no explanation.
'You said you had drunk a bottle of whisky after a tough day and everything was a blur.
'Daniel Graham, as during the trial, your main focus seemed to be to heap as much blame as possible on your co-defendant.
'You now accept you were present but blame him for what happened that night.'
The judge went on to say: 'You told the probation officer it was (Carruthers') 'dream and his show' and you just went along with it.'
Mrs Justice Lambert said: 'Although there may be grains of truth in what you said, I do not accept your explanations are wholly honest or the whole story.
'Adam Carruthers, your account that you had so much to drink that you had no memory of what happened is not plausible.
'The tree felling demonstrated skill and required deliberate and co-ordinated actions by you… It was not the work of someone whose actions were significantly impaired through drink.
'Nor, Daniel Graham, do I accept you just went along with your co-defendant. You filmed the whole event, you took photos of the chainsaw and wedge of trunk in the boot of your Range Rover.
'The next day, you appeared to revel in coverage of your actions in the media.
'This is not the behaviour of someone who is shocked and horrified by what has happened.'
The court heard they closely followed coverage of the investigation and saw reports of other people, including a teenage boy, being arrested, all while knowing they knew they were responsible.
Andrew Poad, a National Trust manager, gave a victim impact statement which was read in court saying: 'This iconic tree can never be replaced.
'Whilst the National Trust has cared for it on behalf of the nation, it belonged to the people. It was totemic.'
Mr Poad said an email address set up within days of the felling for people to share thoughts received 600 responses in a month.
One said: 'My husband proposed to me at Sycamore Gap under its leafy shelter. A few years ago after lockdown we took our children to see and walk the same section of the wall.
'I'm so glad we got to share such a beautiful and special spot with them before it was gone.'
The court was shown pictures of the new Sycamore Gap Celebration Room at The Sill site in Northumberland, and some comments left by people on a board and in the visitors' book.
One said: 'Nature at its best over 300 years, humanity at its worst over one night.'
Andrew Gurney, for Adam Carruthers, said his client had finally offered a motive for chopping down the tree and 'wishes to cleanse his conscience of what he has done'.
He said: 'People want to know why? Why did you conduct this mindless act?
'Unfortunately, it is no more than drunken stupidity.
'He felled that tree and it is something he will regret for the rest of his life. There's no better explanation than that.'
Chris Knox, defending Graham, said: 'He is a troubled man who has had very real difficulties in his life, which have not all been of his own making.'
His home, and the business he operated from it, were attacked after he was remanded in custody, including having windows broken, the barrister said.
The tree was a symbol of Northumberland, was the site of countless family visits and featured in the Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman film Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.
Its destruction, filmed on a mobile phone, took less than three minutes.
The defendants were once close friends but have fallen out since their arrests, with Graham turning on Carruthers and claiming he had taken his car and phone without his permission on the night the tree was cut down.
Graham's Range Rover was picked up on automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras between Carlisle and Sycamore Gap at night on September 27 2023, and returning early the next morning.
His mobile was traced to phone masts making the same journey.
When police arrested the duo and searched Graham's phone, they found a two minute and 41-second video which showed the sycamore being cut down at 12.30am on September 28, and had been sent to Carruthers.
Messages and voice notes between Graham and Carruthers the next day showed them talking about the story going 'wild' and 'viral'.
Graham claimed Carruthers had a fascination with the sycamore, saying he had described it as 'the most famous tree in the world' and spoken of wanting to cut it down, even keeping a piece of string in his workshop that he had used to measure its circumference.
Carruthers denied this and told the court he could not understand the outcry over the story, saying it was 'just a tree'.