Vandals Who Reduce Down Iconic Sycamore Hole Tree Sentenced In England

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LONDON (AP) — The vandals who lower down England’s beloved Sycamore Hole tree have been sentenced Tuesday to greater than 4 years in jail for inflicting irreversible harm and severe misery.

The tree stood for practically 150 years earlier than Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers set out on darkish and stormy night time to hold out what a prosecutor known as a “moronic mission” to fell the majestic sycamore, which crashed down onto Hadrian’s Wall.

Graham, 39, and Carruthers, 32, have been every convicted of two counts of prison harm — one for destroying the tree, the opposite for damaging the traditional wall.

Justice Christina Lambert sentenced the pair every to 4 years and three months in jail through the listening to at Newcastle Crown Courtroom.

The tree, perched in a saddle between two hills, had been recognized to locals for its scenic setting, however grew to become well-known after a cameo in Kevin Costner’s 1991 movie “Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.” It drew vacationers, lovers, panorama photographers and people who unfold the ashes of family members. It was voted English “Tree of the Year” in 2016.

The 2 males had lengthy denied chopping down the tree, however modified their tune as they confronted their destiny.

They each testified at trial that that they had nothing to do with the vandalism, however a prosecutor mentioned that they ultimately admitted to the crime and blamed booze for the act.

Prosecutor Richard Wright mentioned that it was a “fanciful proposition” that they didn’t intend to chop down the tree alongside Hadrian’s Wall or notice what they have been doing till it was too late.

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

Undated handout photographs issued by Northumbria Police of Daniel Daniel Graham, 39, left, and Adam Carruthers, 32, who have been sentenced on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (Northumbria Police through AP)

The unlawful felling in Northumberland Nationwide Park on Sept. 28, 2023, brought on prompt outrage and information rapidly unfold past the traditional wall constructed by Emperor Hadrian in A.D. 122 to guard the northwest frontier of the Roman Empire.

It wasn’t Britain’s greatest or oldest tree, however the sycamore was prized for its picturesque setting, symmetrically planted between two hills alongside the wall that could be a UNESCO World Heritage Web site.

“This iconic tree can never be replaced,” Andrew Poad, normal supervisor of the heritage and nature conservation charity Nationwide Belief, mentioned in an announcement learn in court docket 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.”

One man wielded a chainsaw whereas the opposite captured the felling on grainy video on a cellphone. Prosecutors couldn’t say who lower down the tree and who memorialized the mindless act, however each have been equally culpable.

In lower than three minutes, the tree that had stood practically 150 years crashed to the bottom.

Carruthers must carry the burden for his actions like a “form of personal penance,” legal professional Andrew Gurney mentioned.

“It was no more than drunken stupidity,” Gurney mentioned, “and something he would regret for the rest of his life.”

At trial, the 2 males — as soon as one of the best of buddies who’ve fallen out since their arrests — testified they have been at their respective houses on the night time of the crime and downplayed their experience working with chainsaws.

However proof proven to the jury implicated each males.

Graham’s Vary Rover was close to the tree across the time it fell. Video of the felling was discovered on his cellphone — with metadata exhibiting that it was shot on the location of the tree.

As digital knowledge confirmed Graham’s automobile on its approach again to the place the 2 lived about 40 minutes away, Carruthers received a textual content from his girlfriend with footage of their 12-day-old son.

“I’ve got a better video than that,” Carruthers replied.

The jury didn’t hear proof of a motive for the crime, however Wright instructed in his closing argument that the 2 had been on a “moronic mission” and lower down the tree as a joke.

“They woke up the morning after and … it must have dawned on them that they couldn’t see anyone else smiling,” Wright mentioned.

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