Men who cut down Britain's famed Sycamore Gap tree sentenced to more than 4 years in prison

CBC

15-07-2025

Two British men who felled the beloved Sycamore Gap tree that had stood nearly 150 years were sentenced Tuesday to four years and three months in prison, minus time served.
Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were convicted in May after forever altering the landscape of a beloved section of Hadrian's Wall in northern England. Each count carried a penalty of up to 10 years behind bars.
Graham, 39, and Carruthers, 32, were each sentenced on two counts of criminal damage — one for destroying the tree, the other for damaging the ancient wall. Each has been in custody for several months.
The illegal felling in Northumberland National Park on Sept. 28, 2023, caused instant outrage. It wasn't Britain's biggest or oldest tree, but it was prized for its picturesque setting, symmetrically planted between two hills along the wall that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
While Graham had a previous criminal record and Carruthers didn't, Justice Christina Lambert said on Tuesday at Newcastle Crown Court she found them equally culpable. Graham filmed the act, while Carruthers wielded the chainsaw.
The tree had long been known to locals but became famous after a cameo in Kevin Costner's 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. It drew tourists, lovers, landscape photographers and even those who spread the ashes of loved ones.
The two men were once close friends but had a falling out since their arrests. They each denied taking part in the act, claiming they were each at their homes that night. But evidence shown to the jury implicated both men.
Graham's Range Rover was near the tree around the time it fell. Grainy video of the felling was found on his phone — with metadata showing that it was shot at the location of the tree.
'Revelled' in media coverage
As digital data showed Graham's vehicle on its way back to where the two lived about 40 minutes away, Carruthers got a text from his girlfriend with footage of their 12-day-old son.
"I've got a better video than that," Carruthers replied.
The jury didn't hear evidence of a motive for the crime, but prosecutor Richard Wright suggested in his closing argument that the two had been on a "moronic mission" and cut down the tree as a joke.
"They woke up the morning after and … it must have dawned on them that they couldn't see anyone else smiling," Wright said.
Lambert on Tuesday spoke of the "sheer bravado" of the men in committing the act, and that they "revelled" in subsequent media coverage of the felled tree.
Graham and Carruthers can be eligible for release after serving 40 per cent of the sentence.