Ex-friends who chopped down Sycamore Gap tree face lengthy jail terms

South Wales Guardian

09-05-2025

Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers drove through a storm for 40 minutes in the middle of the night from their homes in Cumbria to the Northumberland landmark, where one of them cut down the sycamore and the other filmed it.
Precisely who used the chainsaw and who videoed the shocking crime has never been proven, but prosecutors at Newcastle Crown Court stressed the two men were in it together, carrying the equipment to the scene and one encouraging and assisting the other.
The maximum sentence for criminal damage is 10 years and aggravating factors include whether it was done to a heritage or cultural asset and evidence of wider impact on the community.
Mrs Justice Lambert remanded both defendants until they are sentenced on July 15, and said they could face 'a lengthy period in custody'.
The former friends have fallen out since they were arrested and there were angry exchanges between Graham and a supporter of Carruthers in the public gallery when the men were led away.
During the nine day trial, Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, told jurors that Graham and Carruthers took away a wedge from the tree as a trophy and spent the next day revelling in media reports as news of their 'moronic mission' went viral.
The 'odd couple', who did everything together, had thought it would be 'a bit of a laugh', Mr Wright said, but realised they 'weren't the big men they thought they were' when they saw the public outrage they had caused by committing 'the arboreal equivalent of mindless thuggery'.
On Friday, groundworker Graham, 39, and mechanic Carruthers, 32, were each found guilty of two counts of criminal damage – one to the much-photographed tree and and one to Hadrian's Wall, which was damaged when the sycamore fell on it.
There was no visible reaction from either in the dock as the jury returned after just over five hours to convict them.
The trial heard the 'totemic' sycamore had stood for more than 100 years in a dramatic dip in Hadrian's Wall, becoming a popular spot for everything from picnics to proposals – and achieving worldwide fame when it was featured in the 1991 Kevin Costner film Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.
The specimen that had taken over a century to grow was destroyed in less than three minutes.
Jurors heard Graham and Carruthers were 'best of pals' at the time and regularly worked together felling trees.
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 pair 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.
They also found photos and videos of a wedge of tree trunk and a chainsaw in the boot of Graham's Range Rover, although these have never been found.
Messages and voice notes between Graham and Carruthers the next day showed them talking about the story going 'wild' and 'viral', referring to 'an operation like we did last night' and joking that damage looked like it had been done by a professional.
But, Mr Wright said, by the time their trial started 18 months later, the pair had 'lost their courage' and their once close friendship had collapsed, with each apparently blaming the other.
Graham accused Carruthers of taking his car and phone to Sycamore Gap that night without his knowledge, saying he had now turned on his former friend because his business was being affected by Carruthers' actions.
Graham claimed during his evidence that 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 the circumference.
Carruthers denied this and told the court he could not understand the outcry over the story, saying it was 'just a tree'.
The tree and wall were owned by the National Trust and a spokesperson said: 'The needless felling of the Sycamore Gap tree shocked people around the country and overseas, demonstrating the powerful connection between people and our natural heritage.
'It was felt particularly deeply here in the north east of England where the tree was an emblem of the region and the backdrop to many personal memories.'