Two former best friends who filmed themselves cutting down one of Britain’s most famous trees with a chainsaw during a ‘moronic mission’ have been jailed for four years and three months.
Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, from Carlisle, Cumbria, felled the 19th Century Sycamore Gap tree, which sat in a dip next to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, in an act prosecutors described as ‘mindless vandalism.’
The labourers chopped down the iconic tree in a matter of minutes having driven 40 minutes from Carlisle under the cover of darkness on September 27 2023 in Graham’s Range Rover, nicknamed the ‘Black Pig’.
They even kept a wedge of the trunk as a trophy and were said to be ‘loving it’ when news of the destruction made headlines around the world the following day.
Their sentencing hearing at Newcastle Crown Court today heard that the pair have finally admitted their involvement in the felling, having denied being responsible for the duration of their trial which saw them convicted by a jury in May.
Andrew Gurney, defending Carruthers, said the public ‘wanted to know “why?”‘
‘Why did he conduct this mindless act? Unfortunately it is no more than drunken stupidity. That is why he felled that tree. Something he will regret for the rest of his life.
‘There is no better explanation than that.’
Daniel Graham was convicted of felling the Sycamore Gap tree following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court
His co-accused Adam Carruthers was said to have had a ‘fascination’ with the tree
The tree was made famous when it appeared in Kevin Costner’s 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.
He added: ‘He will be forever linked to this act and will have to carry this as some form of personal penance.’
The sycamore was planted in the 1800s by wealthy lawyer and antiquarian John Clayton, who spent much of his life buying land around Hadrian’s Wall to preserve it.
Nestled in a dip in the Roman structure, it attracted visitors from around the globe and appeared in the 1991 blockbuster Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner.
It was a place for picnics, marriage proposals and its image was used on souvenirs ranging from postcards to fridge magnets and prints sold to tourists across Northumberland.
When it was mysteriously felled under the cover of darkness, there was a global outpouring of anger and confusion, prompting a furious response from then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, tearful visits from mourners and international headline news coverage from India to the United States.
But because of the duo’s denials, their true motivation – other than hoping to attract a level of infamy – was never properly established.
Christopher Knox, defending Graham, said that his client had also admitted his involvement in the felling to a probation officer – but denied going with the intent to cut down the tree.
He has also denied being drunk during the ‘mission’ and claimed he ‘didn’t believe it would happen until it did.’
The 150-year-old sycamore was felled in 2023 in an act which stunned the nation
Custody shots of Graham and Carruthers released following their convictions after trial
Shortly after chopping the tree down, Carruthers, who had received a video of his young child from his partner on a mobile phone, replied: ‘I’ve got a better video than that.’
On Graham’s phone was a two minute, 41 second video, showing the silhouette of a man standing beside a large tree before the ‘unmistakeable sound’ of a chainsaw could be heard.
Following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court, Graham and Carruthers were convicted of causing criminal damage without lawful excuse to the tree and to Hadrian’s Wall, a Unesco World Heritage Site, caused when the tree fell across it.
In a victim impact statement read to the court today, Andrew Poad, a general manager at the National Trust, said the felling was ‘beyond comprehension.’
‘This iconic tree can never be replaced,’ he said. ‘While the National Trust has cared for it on behalf of the nation, it belongs to the people.
‘It was a totemic symbol, a destination for visits, a place to make memories, take photographs in all seasons, a place of sanctuary…’
He added: ‘When it became clear this was malicious and deliberate, the question was: why?
‘There was an overwhelming sense of loss and confusion felt across the world.’
The case offered a candid insight into the daily routine of the odd couple – who had worked together on a number of occasions felling trees.
Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, pictured working together. The pair were formerly best friends who spoke on the telephone daily
The court heard that Graham, who affectionately nicknamed his friend ‘Jeffrey’, would regularly drop by Carruthers’ home carrying a milkshake for his friend, and Carruthers would turn up at Graham’s caravan with pizza.
They were in daily telephone contact, having met in 2021 when Carruthers, a mechanic, was hired to fix a Land Rover belonging to Graham’s father, Michael.
While Carruthers was still working on the car, Michael took his own life. Relatives said Graham was ‘deeply affected’ by the death, his father having been the only family member with whom he maintained a close relationship.
He asked Carruthers to make sure the car was ready for the funeral, and the mechanic worked round the clock to make it happen.
‘We became good friends and saw each other two or three times a week, maybe four, and we were on the phone every day,’ Carruthers told the trial.
However Graham reacted angrily to questions during his police interview about the nature of their relationship when asked if Carruthers would ever stay over at his home.
‘Are you trying to say we are p**fters or something?’ he said. ‘No he doesn’t stay over, definitely not.’
However the pressure of the arrests destroyed their friendship, with Graham later turning on Carruthers in an anonymous phone call to police pinning the blame on his friend.
Officers instantly recognised Graham’s voice as he breathlessly told them that ‘one of the lads that [did] it, Adam Carruthers,’ had taken his chainsaws back home.
The ‘anonymous caller’ said if police searched Carruthers’ home and workshop they would find the saws and part of the felled tree, along with a shotgun and a pistol.
No firearms, chainsaws or the tree wedge were found, however.
During his evidence at trial, Graham claimed Carruthers showed him a piece of string with ‘sentimental value’ in 2021 – two years before the tree was felled – which was the precise measurement of the circumference of the tree.
‘He had measured the circumference with the string,’ Graham told the jury. ‘He told me it was the most famous tree in the world.’
He later said Carruthers had a ‘strange interest in a lot of things.’
Prosecutor Richard Wright KC told the sentencing hearing that it was ‘an expedition that required significant planning.’
‘In terms of taking a vehicle, driving 40 minutes to a car park, taking the appropriate specialist equipment, carrying the equipment from the car park to the tree, a 20-minute walk in each direction… and felling the tree in a deliberate and professional way,’ he said.
He disputed that the pair were drunk during their mission, adding: ‘The court can be sure they were sober, prepared and planned to do what they did.’
Earlier, opening the case to the jury at trial, he 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.
‘Having completed their moronic mission, the pair got back into the Range Rover and travelled back towards Carlisle.’
The following morning, as news broke of the vandalism, the pair shared news and social media posts about the tree with Graham saying to Carruthers ‘here we go,’ the court heard.
Mr Wright said this was the pair ‘gathering the news of their infamy as the men who took down the tree’.
‘This is more than mere discussion,’ he added. ‘This is excitement that it has gone worldwide, its gone viral.
‘There is no sadness here or remorse.’
When a man named Kevin Hartness posted about the tree on Facebook, writing: ‘Some weak people that walk this earth; disgusting behaviour’, Carruthers sent this post to Graham.
In a voice note played to the court, Graham replied: ‘That Kevin Hartness comment. Weak… f****g weak? Does he realise how heavy sh*t is?’
Carruthers later sent a voice note which said: ‘I’d like to see Kevin Hartness launch an operation like we did last night… I don’t think he’s got the minerals.’
Graham, who had his own groundworks company, lived on a small-holding in Grinsdale Bridge, near Carlisle while Carruthers, who was said to work in ‘property maintenance’, lived in a caravan on an airfield with his partner and two young children.
The net closed in on the pair when Graham’s Range Rover was captured on automated numberplate cameras travelling to and from the Sycamore Gap beauty spot on the night of the incident.
Earlier this month, it was announced that a piece of the Sycamore Gap tree is set to go on permanent display at Sill National Landscape Discovery Centre near Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, two miles away from where the tree stood.
The installation, created by artist Charlie Whinney, includes a piece of the tree that is more , than 6ft (2m) long, surrounded by steam-bent wood that twists around the original trunk, and three benches.
