UK trial told Sycamore Gap tree felling was a ‘mindless’ act

A prosecutor in the UK has said that two men embarked on a “moronic mission” to cut down the famous Sycamore Gap tree in Northumberland in an “act of deliberate and mindless criminal damage.”

The tree, revered for its symmetrical perch between two hills along ancient Hadrian’s Wall, was cut down in the early hours of 28 September 2023, damaging the stone wall as it crashed to the ground.

Although the sound was heard by few, the discovery of the fallen tree reverberated across the UK and caused a national outcry.

“Though the tree had grown for over 100 years, the act of irreparably damaging it was the work of a matter of minutes,” prosecutor Richard Wright told jurors in opening statements at Newcastle Crown Court.

Wright outlined the evidence against Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, who have pleaded not guilty to two counts each of criminal damage.

Prosecutors said the value of the tree exceeded £620,000 (€728,000) and damage to the wall was assessed at £1,100 (€1,293).

Wright said one of the men used a chainsaw to expertly fell the tree in Northumberland National Park, while the other filmed the act using a phone.

As they returned to their homes afterwards in Graham’s Range Rover, Carruthers received a video of his young child from his partner and replied, “I’ve got a better video than that,” Wright said.

“At the time of that text conversation, the only people in the world who knew the tree had been felled were the men who had had cut it down,” Wright said.

“And the only people in the world who had access to the video were the men who had filmed themselves in the act of cutting down the tree: the defendants Graham and Carruthers.”

The tree was far from Britain’s biggest or oldest. But the way its graceful canopy filled the saddle in the hills along a stretch of the ancient wall built by Emperor Hadrian in AD122 to protect the northwest frontier of the Roman Empire had attracted generations of followers.

The wall is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The tree became famous after being featured in Kevin Costner’s 1991 film “Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves” and was a big draw for tourists, landscape photographers and people taking selfies.

A criminal prosecution for cutting down a tree is rare and a prison sentence could be unprecedented if there’s a conviction, said Sarah Dodd, an attorney who specialises in tree law.

The maximum penalty for criminal damage is 10 years in jail.

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“I don’t think anybody has got a custodial sentence for the illegal felling of a tree yet in the UK,” said Dodd. “That’s on the table because of the gravity of the situation. And when I say gravity, I think value and also the shock of the nation.”

‘A source of great pride’

Before the tree was cut down, about 80% of the inquiries at the main visitors’ centre of the Northumberland National Park were from people planning to walk to the tree, the park’s chief executive, Tony Gates, said.

“The tree is part of our Northumbrian identity. It’s something that everybody grows up knowing about,” said Catherine Cape, who owns a guest cabin nearby. “For the people in the villages around the tree, who live near the tree, it was a source of great pride.”

The felled sycamore was removed with a crane and taken to a National Trust property for storage.

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A section of the trunk went on display at the park visitor centre last year and seeds from the tree that were used to grow saplings are being donated for planting around the UK.

The tree is now fenced off, but there are signs of a possible recovery. Dozens of shoots have sprouted from the stump.