Sycamore Gap vandals admit cutting down beloved tree at sentencing


By BRIAN MELLEY, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The two men who long denied cutting down England’s beloved Sycamore Gap tree changed their tune Tuesday as they faced several years in prison for the crime.

Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers previously testified at trial that they had nothing to do with the vandalism, but a prosecutor said that the two convicts now blame booze for the act as they admitted before sentencing that they had been on what he termed a “moronic mission” to topple the tree.

Prosecutor Richard Wright said that it was a “fanciful proposition” that they didn’t intend to cut down the tree along Hadrian’s Wall or realize what they were doing until it was too late.

FILE – The felled Sycamore Gap tree is seen on Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, England, Sept. 29, 2023. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP, File)

“The court can be sure they were sober, prepared and planned to do what they did,” Wright said. He said the pair should serve prison sentences between 18 months and 4 years.

Justice Christina Lambert was due to sentence the pair later in the afternoon at Newcastle Crown Court.

Graham, 39, and Carruthers, 32, were each convicted in May of two counts of criminal damage — one for killing the tree, and the other for damaging the ancient wall.

The illegal felling in Northumberland National Park on Sept. 28, 2023, caused instant outrage and news quickly spread beyond the ancient wall built by Emperor Hadrian in A.D. 122 to protect the northwest frontier of the Roman Empire.

It wasn’t Britain’s biggest or oldest tree, but the sycamore was prized for its picturesque setting, symmetrically planted between two hills along the wall that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The tree had long been known to locals but became famous after a cameo in Kevin Costner’s 1991 film “Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.” It drew tourists, lovers, landscape photographers and even those who spread the ashes of loved ones. It was voted English “Tree of the Year” in 2016.

“This iconic tree can never be replaced,” Andrew Poad, general manager of the heritage and nature conservation charity National Trust, said in a statement read in court by a prosecutor. “It belonged to the people. It was a totemic symbol for many; a destination to visit whilst walking Hadrian’s Wall, a place to make memories, take photos in all seasons; but it was also a place of sanctuary.”



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