Sycamore gap tree fellers sentenced to more than four years each in prison
Daniel Graham
By Caitlin Danaher, CNN
(CNN) — Two men have been sentenced to four years and three months each in prison for felling a landmark sycamore tree in northern England.
Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, were both found guilty of two counts of criminal damage in May, one relating to the tree itself and the other to Hadrian’s Wall that it fell on, according to the UK’s PA Media news agency.
The pair were sentenced in Newcastle Crown Court in northeast England on Tuesday.
The tree had stood sentinel on the Roman-built Hadrian’s Wall for more than 200 years before being “deliberately felled” in September 2023, in what authorities at the time called an “act of vandalism.”
The beloved sycamore tree, located in the Northumberland National Park, 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 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.
More to follow.
CNN’s Jack Guy and Issy Ronald contributed reporting
The-CNN-Wire
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