Latest news with #RobinHood:PrinceOfThieves
Epoch Times
12-05-2025
- Epoch Times
Two Former Friends Found Guilty of Cutting Down World-Famous Sycamore Gap Tree
Two former friends have been found guilty of cutting down the world-famous Sycamore Gap tree in an act of 'deliberate and mindless criminal damage.' Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers drove through a storm for 30 miles in the middle of the night from their homes in Cumbria to the Northumberland landmark, where one of them cut down the sycamore with a chainsaw and the other filmed it. Newcastle Crown Court heard the pair then kept a wedge of the trunk as a trophy and spent the next day 'revelling' in news reports about their 'moronic mission.' Prosecutors said the 'odd couple' who did everything together had 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.' 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 of causing £622,191 of criminal damage to the tree and £1,144 of damage to the wall. Related Stories 4/29/2025 5/8/2025 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.' 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.' Jurors heard Graham and Carruthers were 'best of pals' at the time and regularly worked together felling trees. The court heard Graham's Land Rover was picked up on automatic number plate recognition cameras between Carlisle and Sycamore Gap at night on Sept. 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 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 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, 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 Range Rover and mobile 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's 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.' Cross examining Carruthers, Wright asked him: 'Is that what's at the heart of this? You thought it was 'just a tree,' and when the rest of the world didn't think it was 'just a tree' and it was a terrible and wicked thing to have done, you've lost your bottle and can't own up to it?' They will be sentenced on July 15.
Euronews
09-05-2025
- Euronews
Two men found guilty of criminal damage for felling Sycamore Gap tree
Two men have been found guilty of cutting down the beloved Sycamore Gap tree in northern England in 2023 in an unexplained act of vandalism that sparked widespread outrage. A Newcastle Crown Court jury found Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers guilty of two counts each of criminal damage for felling the tree, causing it to topple onto Hadrian's Wall. The tree was not Britain's biggest or oldest, but it was prized for its picturesque setting symmetrically planted between two hills along the ancient wall built by Emperor Hadrian in AD 122 to protect the northwest frontier of the Roman Empire and had attracted generations of followers. The tree had been known to locals but received international attention 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. "For over a century, Sycamore Gap has been an iconic natural landmark in the northeast of England, bringing immeasurable joy to those visiting the area," Gale Gilchrist, chief prosecutor for the region, said in a statement after the verdict. "In just under three minutes, Graham and Carruthers ended its historic legacy in a deliberate and mindless act of destruction." Jurors deliberated about four hours on Thursday and reached a verdict after meeting for less than 30 minutes on Friday morning. Neither defendant showed any visible reaction as the verdicts were read. Justice Christina Lambert ordered both men held in custody until sentencing on 15 July and said they could face "a lengthy period in custody." The maximum sentence for criminal damage is 10 years in prison. The defendants, once close friends, both testified that they had nothing to do with cutting down the tree. Graham pointed the finger at Carruthers. Prosecutors showed grainy video from Graham's phone of the tree being cut down, a video sent shortly afterward to Carruthers' phone. Metadata showed it was taken at the tree's location in Northumberland National Park. Data showed Graham's Range Rover had travelled there. Prosecutor Richard Wright said he couldn't say who cut the tree and who held the phone, but the two men were the only people in the world who had the video on their devices. The following day, Carruthers and Graham exchanged text and voice messages that captured their excitement as the story went viral. Prosecutors offered no evidence of a motive for the crime other than calling it senseless vandalism. But Wright suggested to jurors in his closing argument that the men cut the tree down for "a bit of a laugh" but had failed to realise the anger they would spark in the "arboreal equivalent of mindless thuggery." "They woke up the morning after and soon realised — as the news media rolled in, as the outrage of the public became clear — it must have dawned on them that they couldn't see anyone else smiling," Wright said. "Far from being the big men they thought they were, everyone else thought that they were rather pathetic." Prosecutors originally said the tree was valued at more than £620,000 pounds (€732,000) and damage to the wall was estimated at £1,100 pounds (€1,300). But on Friday prosecutor Rebecca Brown said those figures are in dispute and are likely lower, but would still fall in the top category of harm for sentencing purposes. Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev has said he is submitting a request to parliament to hold a referendum on whether the country adopts the euro as its currency. "Bulgaria, as a full member of the European Union, faces a strategic decision - the introduction of the single European currency," Radev said in a national address. "The referendum will be a test of the National Assembly's democracy and will show who is following the principles of democracy and who is denying Bulgarians the right to determine their future. The referendum will be salutary for Bulgarian democracy." The path to the eurozone has not been an easy one for Bulgaria. In 2024, the European Central Bank said the country couldn't join the currency union because inflation in the country was too high. And in February this year, police in Sofia clashed with nationalist protesters who demanded the government scrap plans to join the eurozone. Around 1,000 protesters gathered in front of the Sofia office of the European Commission, the European Union's executive branch, and threw red paint and firecrackers at the building, eventually setting a door on fire. Bulgaria, which joined the EU in 2007, has been plagued by political instability over the last several years. The new government, formed last month, has made eurozone membership a key priority. But not everyone is convinced that Bulgaria is ready to join the eurozone. Some economists claim that the country lacks an acceptable degree of economic condition to join the eurozone and it's not yet ready to adopt the single currency. But the government, backed by other pro-European parties in parliament, stress the political importance of adoption as another step to deepen European integration amid growing geopolitical tensions. Trying to distract the country from this objective, pro-Russia nationalists are reportedly gearing up for more heated battles and have allegedly been using disinformation as a tool to spread fear among people.
Rhyl Journal
09-05-2025
- Rhyl Journal
Ex-friends who chopped down Sycamore Gap tree face lengthy jail terms
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.'
South Wales Guardian
09-05-2025
- South Wales Guardian
Ex-friends who chopped down Sycamore Gap tree face lengthy jail terms
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.'
Leader Live
09-05-2025
- Leader Live
Ex-friends who chopped down Sycamore Gap tree face lengthy jail terms
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.'
