The two men who felled the famed Sycamore Gap tree in northern England were found guilty today at Newcastle Crown Court. Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, were each convicted of two counts of criminal damage: one for the tree, and one for the section of Hadrian's Wall damaged when it toppled. They will be sentenced July 15 and could receive anything from a fine to years in prison.
The tree, a popular tourist attraction known to many for its starring role in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, was cut down with a chainsaw in three minutes on September 27, 2023.
No explanation was ever given for the act of destruction, but they obviously enjoyed doing it, "revelling in the public outcry" as news spread. The pair's incautious behavior helped lead the way to their conviction: a slice of the tree was kept as a memento, the act was filmed on Graham's phone and sent to Carruthers (though the footage was so low-quality it's impossible to tell which of the two did the deed) and prosecutors said Graham's car and phone were tracked traveling to and from the site that night. A photo found on Graham's phone showed part of the tree in the back of his Range Rover.
In one voice note, Carruthers referred to the incident as an "operation."
They did not, however, succeed in killing the sycamore, from whose stump new growths are sprouting. The severely-coppiced tree will take at least 150 years to grow back to its former stature, according to naturalists with the BBC.
Previously:
• Famed Sycamore Gap tree in England felled in 'malicious act of vandalism'
• Trial begins for men accused of chopping down famous tree in England
• Two charged with chopping down famous tree in England
