Two men convicted of felling UK’s famous Sycamore Gap tree

By Jack Guy and Issy Ronald, CNN

(CNN) — Two men have been found guilty of criminal damage for felling a landmark sycamore tree in northern England.

Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, were each found guilty of two counts of criminal damage, one relating to the tree and the other to Hadrian’s Wall that the tree fell on, according to the UK’s PA Media news agency on Friday.

The verdict was handed down following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court in northeast England. Both men will be sentenced on July 15.

They will remain in custody until then, the judge ruled, noting that Graham has already been in custody “for his own protection” since December. Mrs Justice Lambert also remanded Carruthers, saying there “is a substantial risk” he will fail to surrender as well as a risk to his own welfare since his identity is widely known.

The tree had stood sentinel on Britain’s Roman-built Hadrian’s Wall for more than 200 years before being felled in September 2023.

The sycamore tree, located in the Northumberland National Park in northern England, was made famous to millions around the world when it appeared in Kevin Costner’s 1991 blockbuster movie “Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.”

The tree – at a spot known as “Sycamore Gap” – was located on the historic UNESCO World Heritage listed Hadrian’s Wall, which was constructed around 1,900 years ago to guard the furthest northwestern frontier of the Roman Empire.

During the trial, prosecutor Richard Wright KC said the felling was an act of “mindless vandalism.” He detailed how the two men drove 30 miles (48 kilometers) at night to reach the tree before one cut it down while the other filmed it.

The jury determined Graham and Carruthers caused £622,191 (about $826,000) of criminal damage to the tree and £1,144 ($1,500) of damage to Hadrian’s Wall, according to PA Media.

Jurors heard how the two men sometimes worked together and had experience of cutting down large trees. Although originally the “best of pals,” the two defendants now appear to have fallen out and their friendship has “unravelled,” the court was told.

During testimony, Graham told the court that Carruthers had told him that the tree “was the most famous tree in the world” and had spoken about cutting it down, reports PA Media.

As well as filming the felling, the pair later took photos and videos of a piece of wood next to a chainsaw in the back of Graham’s vehicle, the court heard.

“This was perhaps a trophy taken from the scene to remind them of their actions, actions that they appear to have been revelling in,” said Wright, who also detailed how the pair joked about cutting the tree down in WhatsApp messages the following day.

Tree destroyed in minutes

It took Graham and Carruthers “just under three minutes” to end the tree’s “historic legacy in a deliberate and mindless act of destruction,” Gale Gilchrist, a top prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, said in a statement.

Northumbria Police said that “at no point have the two men given an explanation for why they targeted the tree – and there never could be a justifiable one.”

Sycamore Gap was considered one of the most photographed trees in England and was voted as English Tree of the Year in 2016.

The National Trust heritage charity, which co-manages the site, said in a statement Friday: “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.”

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This story has been updated.