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The Independent
09-05-2025
- The Independent
Sycamore Gap: Who are the two men convicted of cutting down world-famous tree?
When Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers arrived at court for the first time in May 2024 with their faces covered, mystery surrounded the two men accused of cutting down 'the world's most famous tree' at Sycamore Gap. A trial that ended with both men being found guilty of criminal damage heard that they were 'reasonably isolated figures' and an 'odd couple' who did everything together. At the time the sycamore was chopped down, they were 'best of pals' who lived 12 miles apart in Cumbria, saw each other up to four times a week, spoke on the phone every day and regularly worked together felling trees. The court heard that in the year since their first court appearance, when they walked in together wearing balaclavas, the pair's once close friendship had unravelled, with Graham blaming Carruthers for cutting down the famous sycamore and ruining his business. – Daniel Graham Newcastle Crown Court heard Graham, 39, lived and worked at Milbeck Stables, Carlisle, where he had a groundwork company called D M Graham Groundworks. The court heard Graham sometimes cut down trees as part of his business and owned three or four chainsaws. He told police during an interview he 'didn't really do a lot' and would usually either be at work, the yard or with his 'bird'. The court heard he rarely socialised with anyone other than Carruthers or his on-off partner, who he named as Lisa Shields. Graham told detectives he had trouble sleeping and would sometimes go for a drive in his campervan, saying: 'I don't have plans for tomorrow, never mind the day after.' He said during his evidence that he had mental health issues and that his father had hanged himself – a tragedy that led to his close friendship with Carruthers. The court heard Carruthers had been repairing Graham's father's Land Rover when he died, and Carruthers did Graham a 'good turn' by getting it ready in time for the funeral. At the time the tree was cut down in September 2023, the pair had been 'best of pals' for about three years, according to Graham, and split the cash they made from felling trees 50/50. In his interviews with police, Graham refused to name the person he thought was responsible for cutting down the tree and asked if the allegation that he was involved would ruin his life, he replied: 'I don't have any family so I don't give a f***.' But he told the trial he 'turned on' Carruthers when his business started to suffer because of his name being linked to Sycamore Gap. The court heard a 10-minute anonymous phone call Graham made to police in August year when he named Carruthers as being responsible for cutting the tree down. In a Facebook post in December last year, just before their first trial was due to start, Graham posted several pictures of Carruthers, saying: 'Here's the man with the hidden face,' and accused him of borrowing his Jeep to cut the tree down, while denying his own involvement. That trial in December 2024 did not go ahead because Graham was too ill. His barrister Chris Knox said Graham 'had been in custody for his own protection' after an 'episode' around that tim. – Adam Carruthers The trial heard Adam Carruthers, 32, became a father for the second time only 12 days before the tree was felled. His partner Amy Connor gave birth to their second daughter on September 16 2023. Carruthers said he usually lived with his father in Wigton, but at the time of the Sycamore Gap damage, he was staying with Ms Connor in a caravan at the Old Fuel Depot in Kirkbride, Cumbria. Carruthers said he was a mechanic, worked at a turf farm maintaining all their machinery and looked after some residential flats. Asked what sort of machinery he specialised in, he said: 'Anything really, anything with an engine.' Carruthers said he and Graham 'just stumbled upon each other as friends'. He denied Graham's claim that he had a fascination with the Sycamore Gap tree, or kept a piece of string he had used to measure its circumference. The court heard Carruthers had no previous convictions, reprimands, warnings or cautions.
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Was 'revenge' the motive behind Sycamore Gap felling? Vandal had been accused of 'destroying the countryside' in planning dispute over his ramshackle caravan home
Two groundworkers have today been found guilty of cutting down Britain's most famous tree, as a possible 'revenge' motive was revealed. Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, face up to ten years in prison for felling the Sycamore Gap tree during a 'moronic mission' which lasted less than three minutes, and causing damage to Hadrian's Wall in the process. Jurors found the pair guilty after their friendship degenerated and they tried to pin the blame on each other in court. The verdicts were delivered after five hours of deliberations. And it can also now be revealed that the shocking plot to fell the tree was hatched as Graham was facing removal from his ramshackle home in the shadow of Hadrian's Wall - branded a 'shanty town' by long-suffering neighbours. Some locals in the remote rural area are convinced that the groundworker's motive in targeting the iconic tree stems from his grievance with authority over his failure to secure planning approval for the eyesore he created in the unspoilt landscape. Graham bought a small plot of farmland in Grinsdale Bridge near the Cumbrian village of Kirkandrews-on-Eden in 2015, the Telegraph reported. There he quickly established a number of buildings on the property and gained planning permission for a stable block, horse shelter and storage units. But locals complained when Graham moved into a caravan on the site shortly afterwards, using it as the base for his business, DM Graham Groundworks – which lists tree clearance among its services. He developed the land - which he named Millbeck Stables - into a sprawling 'shanty town'. When neighbours complained about additional prefab buildings erected without planning permission, the noise of his dogs and the constant to-ing and fro-ing of the lorries he used in his groundwork business they were met with aggression. A neighbour told the Telegraph that Graham had 'completely destroyed the look and peace of this area' and that 'harsh words' had been exchanged. 'It was unbelievable that he managed to establish a home there on what had previously been a green field,' they said. Graham applied to Cumberland Council for permission to live there lawfully in October 2022 despite never having sought planning permission, the Sun reported. But after neighbours objected and the local parish council said people felt threatened by his 'dominant and oppressive behaviour' it was rejected in April 2023 – leaving him facing eviction. Just five months later, he and Carruthers chopped down the famous tree. Now some locals believe the 'moronic' Sycamore Gap outrage was his bid for revenge on all those he felt had wronged him. 'It's what everyone around here was saying and it makes perfect sense,' one told the Sun. 'He considered that caravan his permanent home and had asked the council to legally recognise that. 'When they refused the only way it could ever have ended for him was being evicted. 'He's a tree surgeon, he cuts trees down all the time – what better way, in his eyes, for him to take revenge?' Grabs from an enhanced version of mobile phone footage showing the Sycamore Gap being felled in September 2023, which was shown at Newcastle Crown Court Meanwhile Graham appealed to the planning inspectorate in a bid to avoid eviction, but that was turned down on April 28, the day before his trial began. He has six months to find somewhere else to live – however his immediate future is now behind bars. Sycamore Gap timeline: How damage to the landmark tree unfolded – September 28, 2023 12.32am A video is made on Daniel Graham's phone showing the sound of a chainsaw, followed by the sound of a tree falling 9.46am Police receive a report that the Sycamore Gap tree has been damaged. The investigation begins – October 31, 2023 Graham and Adam Carruthers are arrested and interviewed. Police find two chainsaws, and a chainsaw blade and cover at Graham's house – November 3, 2023 Graham and Carruthers are arrested and interviewed again. Carruthers' property is searched and a chainsaw is found – April 30, 2024 Graham and Carruthers are charged with criminal damage. They both later plead not guilty. - April 28, 2025 The trial of Graham and Carruthers begins at Newcastle Crown Court - May 9, 2025 Graham and Carruthers are found guilty of cutting down the tree in an act of 'deliberate and mindless criminal damage' July 15, 2025 Graham and Carruthers will be sentenced A neighbour Grinsdale Bridge described Graham as a 'sociopath and a bully.' 'I feel certain that he was the driving force behind what happened at Sycamore Gap because Adam doesn't have the brains to plan such a thing,' they added. Even Graham's grandmother, Joan, 86, was unable to muster a good word about her grandson. 'He hasn't been part of my life for a few years and I'm happy for it to stay that way,' she said. 'I don't think he'll cope well in jail but that's his own fault.' Graham and Carruthers, both from Cumbria, drove for 30 miles through a storm, then filmed themselves cutting down the iconic landmark in the early hours of September 28, 2023. Carruthers then forwarded the video to his partner as they fled the scene. The following morning, when news broke of the vandalism, the pair shared social media posts about the tree with Graham saying to Carruthers 'here we go,' as they 'revelled' in news reports about the crime. Prosecutors said the friends thought it would be 'a bit of a laugh' - 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'. Graham and Carruthers were found guilty of causing £622,191 of criminal damage to the tree and £1,144 of damage to Hadrian's Wall, a Unesco World Heritage Site. Both defendants stared straight ahead and showed little emotion as the guilty verdicts were read to the court. Carruthers sat with hands clasped in front of him, while Graham lifted a hand to his face and stroked his beard. The sycamore had stood for more than 100 years and achieved worldwide fame when it was featured in the 1991 Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman film, Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. The trial heard that the police investigation into the damage included people who had issues with the National Trust, and even a young boy who reported his brother. Opening the case to jurors, prosecutor Richard Wright KC said: 'Though the tree had grown for over a hundred years, the act of irreparably damaging it was the work of a matter of minutes.' Graham and Carruthers were 'best of pals' at the time and regularly worked together felling trees. Graham's Land 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 phone was traced to cell sites 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. A man named Kevin Hartness posted about the tree on Facebook, writing: 'Some weak people that walk this earth; disgusting behaviour.' Carruthers sent this post to Graham, and later sent a voice note in which he said: 'I'd like to see Kevin Hartness launch an operation like we did last night… I don't think he's got the minerals.' In August last year, Graham made an anonymous phone call to the police in an attempt to implicate his friend and save himself. Officers instantly recognised his voice as he told them that 'one of the lads that [did] it, Adam Carruthers,' had taken his chainsaws back home. The 'anonymous caller' said if police searched Carruthers' home and workshop they would find the saws and part of the felled tree, along with a shotgun and a pistol. No firearms, chainsaws or the tree wedge were found, however. On December 1, 2024, days before the trial was originally scheduled to begin, Graham took to Facebook to accuse Carruthers of felling the tree, posting a series of images of his former friend. 'I truly would not do it,' he wrote. 'It's my picture everywhere. Well, here's a picture of the man with [the] hidden face.' In a tense exchange with Mr Wright during his cross examination, Graham tried to justify turning on his friend. He said Carruthers and an associate had tried to intimidate him into taking the blame for cutting down the tree, insisting that the criminal justice system would be lenient towards him due to his mental health issues. He added: 'If someone is costing me money and affecting my business then I will f***ing grass. 'No doubt about it he [Carruthers] is the one holding the chainsaw. Adam felled the tree, I don't know 100 per cent who the other person was. 'I was annoyed about my business suffering through his actions.' To explain away number plate and phone site evidence against him, Graham insisted that Carruthers and an accomplice had taken his car, with his phone inside, and driven to the Sycamore Gap without his knowledge while he had been sleeping in his caravan. Graham (pictured) insisted that Carruthers and an accomplice had taken his car, with his phone inside, and driven to the Sycamore Gap without his knowledge while he had been sleeping in his caravan Carruthers, for his part, did not directly accuse Graham of being involved in felling the tree. But he insisted that on the evening the tree was felled he had tried to take his partner and young children for a meal at the Metrocentre in Gateshead but turned back because their 11-day-old baby was unsettled. Jurors rejected these flimsy alibis and found the pair unanimously guilty of causing criminal damage worth £622,191 to the tree and £1,144 worth of damage to Hadrian's Wall, a Unesco world heritage site owned by the National Trust. They now face up to ten years in prison. The iconic tree that captured the world's imagination: Sycamore Gap became a backdrop to Hollywood blockbuster and site of helicopter crash that nearly killed a national treasure Known to some as the Robin Hood Tree after its appearance in Kevin Costner's 1991 film, Sycamore Gap was one of the most photographed trees in the country. It stood next to Hadrian's Wall near Crag Lough in Northumberland and is believed to have been planted in the early 18th century. It is said to have once stood alongside others but eventually became the only one left - making it especially photogenic. In Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, the hero - played by Costner - is seen pulling leaves from the tree as he walks under it with the warrior Azeem, who is played by Morgan Freeman. The tree also featured in the music video for American star Bryan Adams' hit (Everything I Do) I Do It for You, which was the soundtrack for Costner's Robin Hood film. In 2003, the tree escaped damage when a helicopter that was filming documentary series British Isles - A Natural History crashed less than 100 feet away. The four onboard the aircraft were injured, but presenter Alan Titchmarsh, who was standing on the ground, narrowly escaped harm. Titchmarsh said at the time: 'I was pretty shaken and I was worried the copter was going to explode. The crew scrambled out and ran like hell.' An eyewitness added: 'Alan Titchmarsh was very lucky not to be hit. 'He was almost underneath the helicopter when it fell but jumped out of the way as it came down. 'The aircraft landed on its side and everyone, including Alan, ran to help. Everyone was amazed the crew were not seriously hurt.'
BBC News
01-05-2025
- BBC News
Sycamore Gap accused 'not trained for large trees'
A man accused of felling the world famous Sycamore Gap tree told police he did not have the skill or experience to do the tree had grown in a dip on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland for more than 100 years before it was felled in a "moronic mission" in the early hours of 28 September 2023, Newcastle Crown Court has Michael Graham, 39, from Carlisle and Adam Carruthers, 32, from Wigton in Cumbria, each deny two counts of criminal damage relating to the tree and the Roman his interview with Northumbria Police, Mr Graham said he had been falsely accused amid an ongoing feud with others. Jurors were previously told the tree was a much-loved landmark and had global significance for its position on the former frontier of the Roman the night of 27 September, Mr Carruthers and Mr Graham made a 40-minute drive in the latter's Range Rover from Cumbria to chop the tree down, prosecutors allege. The felling was filmed on Mr Graham's phone and the pair took a wedge cut of the trunk home as a "trophy", jurors have heard. A video analyst said there was "no doubt" a car boot depicted in a picture of a wedge of wood and chainsaw was that of Mr Graham's Range Rover, jurors image was taken a couple of hours after the tree was felled and a forensic botanist said there was "very strong evidence" the wedge, which has not been recovered by police, had come from the Sycamore Gap tree, the court heard. The pair were both arrested on 31 October and taken for police at the outset of his hour and 20 minute-long interview if he was responsible for felling the tree, Mr Graham replied: "No."He said he only knew what everyone else did from the news and had gone to the site in the days afterwards to have a look at the felled tree, the court Graham said he had been to the tree previously to do "the same as everyone else does", namely going for a walk and staying nearby in his told officers he did not know who had cut it down but did know who had put his name forward as a suspect, adding: "I'm going to get my own back."Mr Graham said he and Mr Carruthers were embroiled in a dispute with others and it was their rivals who posted the accusations about the tree on Facebook. Mr Graham said there was nothing on his iPhone 13 which would link him to the felling, adding: "I've got no worries about anything on that phone, nothing at all."He said he did not have "a clue" what he had done on the night of 27 September as it was a month before, but added he "didn't do much" and would either have been at home or with a friend or his girlfriend, who he referred to as his "bird".Mr Graham said he ran a groundworks company, DM Graham Groundworks, making "everything from house foundations, patios and fencing, the lot, it all depends on the weather".He said he had three or four chainsaws at his yard which police would find "if they looked with their eyes".Asked if he knew how to fell trees, Mr Graham said he could so small and medium ones and directed police to look at his Facebook page to see what work he had done."I've never done a large fell," he said, adding he had done "pretty high trees" but "nothing with major diameter". Mr Graham was asked how he would cut down a large tree, to which he replied he would cut a notch in the front to mark the direction of fall then chop a wedge out the back, which jurors have heard is the "hinge-and-wedge" technique used to fell the also said he left the keys in all his vehicles, including his Range Rover, and they were free for anyone to Graham said his "good pal" Mr Carruthers had used his Range Rover before and done tree felling work for him, adding: "I can put him up a tree with ropes and not worry he is going to come down."Asked if Mr Carruthers ever stayed at his overnight, Mr Graham said "definitely not" and asked if police thought they were gay, the court trial continues. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas here.
Epoch Times
30-04-2025
- Epoch Times
Sycamore Gap Accused ‘Revelled in News Reports of What They Had Done' to Tree
Two friends filmed themselves in a 'moronic mission' to cut down the famous Sycamore Gap tree before keeping a wedge of the trunk as a 'trophy' and 'revelling' in their infamy when news broke the next day, prosecutors told a jury. Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers are accused of driving from Carlisle to the Northumberland beauty spot in the dead of night to chop down the tree with a chainsaw. Prosecutors say one man cut across the trunk with 'expertise and a determined, deliberate approach' while the other recorded the felling on a mobile phone. They then sent messages to each other the next day about the story going 'wild' and 'viral,' with prosecutors saying they were 'excited' about what they had done. Graham, 39, of Milbeck Stables, Carlisle, and Adam Carruthers, 32, of Church Street, Wigton, Cumbria, are each charged with two counts each of criminal damage—one to the tree and one to the ancient Roman-built wall which is a Unesco World Heritage Site—on Sept. 28, 2023. Opening the trial to jurors at Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday, prosecutor Richard Wright, KC said the Sycamore Gap tree had stood for over a century in a dip next to Hadrian's Wall in the Northumberland National Park, becoming 'a famous site, reproduced countless times in photographs, feature films, and art.' Related Stories 9/30/2023 9/28/2023 Wright told jurors: 'By sunrise on Thursday, September 28, the tree had been deliberately felled with a chainsaw in an act of deliberate and mindless criminal damage.' The court heard Graham and Carruthers are accused of travelling together, in Graham's Range Rover, from the Carlisle area where they lived towards Sycamore Gap before parking, walking for around 20 minutes to the tree, and cutting it with a chainsaw. Wright told the jury: 'Though the tree had grown for over a hundred years, the act of irreparably damaging it was the work of a matter of minutes. 'Having completed their moronic mission, the pair got back into the Range Rover, and travelled back towards Carlisle. 'During that return journey Mr. Carruthers received a video of his young child from his partner. He replied to her 'I've got a better video than that.' 'Minutes later the video of the felling of the tree was sent from Graham's phone to Carruthers's phone. 'At the time of that text conversation the only people in the world who knew that the tree had been felled were the men who had cut it down.' Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers appearing in the dock at Newcastle Magistrates' Court accused of felling the Sycamore Gap tree, on May 15, 2024. Elizabeth Cook/PA Jurors heard that a photo and two videos were found on Graham's phone from 2 a.m. that day showing a piece of wood next to a chainsaw in the boot of his Range Rover. The court heard that at the time Graham and Carruthers were 'friends who were regularly in each other's company.' Graham lived in Carlisle and had a groundwork company called D M Graham Groundworks while Carruthers told police during an interview he worked in property maintenance and mechanics. An investigation found the technique used to cut down the tree was a recognised technique in felling, and the position of a notch made in the trunk showed whoever did it knew the tree would fall on to the wall. The trial heard data from cell sites and automatic number plate recognition cameras showed Graham's phone and vehicle were together, travelling towards Sycamore Gap on the night that it was felled, while CCTV footage from the Twice Brewed Inn captured vehicle headlights making a left turn towards the Steel Rigg car park, which is used by people visiting Sycamore Gap, at 11:55 p.m. A video recovered from Graham's iPhone was shown to the jury, with Wright telling them it was 'extremely dark' but that they would hear 'the unmistakable sound of a chainsaw, and a tree falling.' The following morning, as the news broke, the defendants shared social media posts about it with each other, with Graham saying to Carruthers 'here we go.' Wright said Carruthers sent Graham a Facebook post from a man called Kevin Hartness saying, 'Some weak people that walk this earth disgusting behaviour.' Two minutes later Graham replied to Carruthers with a voice note saying: 'That Kevin Hartness comment. Weak … [expletive] weak? Does he realise how heavy [expletive] is?' Carruthers replied with his own voice note saying: 'I'd like to see Kevin Hartness launch an operation like we did last night … I don't think he's got the minerals.' In one message, Graham said to Carruthers 'not a bad angle on that stump,' adding, 'That's clearly a professional.' Jurors were played a voice note from Carruthers to Graham saying: 'Someone there has tagged like ITV News, BBC News, Sky News, like news, news, news. I think it's gonna go wild.' Another voice note from Graham to Carruthers at 11:17 a.m. said: 'Jeffrey [a name Carruthers uses] it's gone viral. It is worldwide. It will be on ITV news tonight.' Wright told jurors: 'They are loving it, they're revelling in it. This is the reaction of the people that did it. They still think it's funny, or clever, or big.' The Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, England, in an undated file photo. PA Wright said in the following days 'message after message' about the Sycamore Gap story were shared between them or screenshot and saved by Graham, showing they were 'gathering news of their infamy.' The court heard Graham and Carruthers's 'once close friendship appears to have unravelled,' with each of them now apparently blaming the other. Wright said: 'As we understand the defences, Graham denies that he was involved in any way. His car and his phone must have been used without his knowledge to make the journey and record the felling. 'Carruthers on the other hand denies that he had anything at all to do with the felling of the tree and will maintain that he was not present when it was cut down.' The trial continues.
The Independent
29-04-2025
- The Independent
Friends filmed themselves chopping down Sycamore Gap tree before ‘revelling' in their infamy, jury told
Two friends filmed themselves chopping down the famous Sycamore Gap tree before 'revelling in' their infamy when news broke of the irreparable damage to one of the country's most treasured landmarks, a court has heard. Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers are also accused of keeping a wedge of the trunk as a trophy from the destruction of the tree in a dip on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland on the night of 27 September, 2023. The pair are alleged to have driven from Carlisle to the Sycamore Gap to chop down the tree with a chainsaw. Prosecutors say one man cut across the trunk, causing it to fall, while the other recorded the act on a mobile phone. They then sent messages to each other the next day about the story going 'wild' and 'viral', with prosecutors saying they were 'excited' about what they had done. Graham, 39, of Milbeck Stables, Carlisle, and Adam Carruthers, 32, of Church Street, Wigton, Cumbria, are each charged with two counts of criminal damage – one to the tree and one to the ancient Roman -built wall which is a Unesco World Heritage Site – on September 28 2023. Both deny the charges. Opening the trial to jurors at Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday, prosecutor Richard Wright KC said the Sycamore Gap tree had stood for over a century in the Northumberland National Park, becoming 'a famous site, reproduced countless times in photographs, feature films, and art'. Mr Wright told jurors: 'By sunrise on Thursday September 28, the tree had been deliberately felled with a chainsaw in an act of deliberate and mindless criminal damage.' The court heard Graham and Carruthers are accused of travelling together, in Graham's Range Rover, from the Carlisle area where they lived towards Sycamore Gap before parking, walking for around 20 minutes to the tree and cutting it with a chainsaw. Mr Wright told the jury: 'Though the tree had grown for over a hundred years, the act of irreparably damaging it was the work of a matter of minutes.' On driving back, Carruthers received a video of his young child from his partner, before replying 'I've got a better video than that', Mr Wright told the jury. Minutes later, the video was sent from Graham's phone to Carruthers' phone, he added. Jurors heard that a photo and two videos were found on Graham's phone from 2am that day showing a piece of wood next to a chainsaw in the boot of his Range Rover. 'Not content with filming the cutting down of the tree or photographing the aftermath, the prosecution will suggest that the defendants took the wedge of the tree from the scene, perhaps as some sort of trophy,' said Mr Wright. The court heard that at the time Graham and Carruthers were 'friends who were regularly in each other's company'. Graham lived in Carlisle and had a groundwork company called D M Graham Groundworks while Carruthers told police during an interview he worked in property maintenance and mechanics. The trial heard data from cell sites and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras showed Graham's phone and vehicle were together, travelling towards Sycamore Gap on the night that it was felled, while CCTV footage from the Twice Brewed Inn captured vehicle headlights making a left turn towards the Steel Rigg car park, which is used by people visiting Sycamore Gap, at 11.55pm. A video recovered from Graham's iPhone was shown to the jury, with Mr Wright telling them it was 'extremely dark' but that they would hear 'the unmistakable sound of a chainsaw, and a tree falling'. The following morning, as the news broke, the defendants shared social media posts about it with each other, with Graham saying to Carruthers 'here we go'. Jurors were played a voice note from Carruthers to Graham saying: 'Someone there has tagged like ITV News, BBC News, Sky News, like news, news, news. I think it's gonna go wild.' Another voice note from Graham to Carruthers said: 'Jeffrey (a name Carruthers uses) it's gone viral. It is worldwide. It will be on ITV News tonight.' Mr Wright told jurors: 'They are loving it, they're revelling in it. This is the reaction of the people that did it. They still think it's funny, or clever, or big.' Mr Wright said in the following days 'message after message' about the Sycamore Gap story were shared between them or screenshot and saved by Graham, showing they were 'gathering news of their infamy'. The court heard Graham and Carruthers' 'once close friendship appears to have unravelled', with each of them now apparently blaming the other. Mr Wright said he understood Graham will claim Carruthers and another man are to blame, while Carruthers will say he was not present when the tree was cut down. Mr Wright said: 'Their once close friendship appears to have unravelled, perhaps as the public revulsion at their behaviour became clear to them.'
