Daniel Graham (left) and Adam Carruthers were each sentenced to four years and three months' jail. Photo / Northumbria Police, AFP
Two men who felled the Sycamore Gap tree have been jailed for four years.
Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, were convicted of causing criminal damage to the 150-year-old tree and Hadrian’s Wall, which was affected when the tree fell on it.
The men were both jailed for four years and three months at Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday. It is the first time anyone has received a custodial sentence for felling a single tree.
Earlier, Carruthers revealed that he had felled the tree in an act of “drunken stupidity”.
Andrew Gurney, for Carruthers, said: “He has made admissions in his pre-sentence report. He does wish to cleanse his conscience of what he has done. People want to know ‘Why? Why did you conduct this mindless act?’
“Unfortunately, it is no more than drunken stupidity. He felled that tree, and it is something he will regret for the rest of his life. There’s no better explanation than that.”
The destruction of the tree at a Unesco-listed heritage site caused widespread outrage. Passing sentence, Justice Lambert said the two men had “revelled” in their notoriety as news of the crime spread.
The judge said: “You revelled in the coverage, taking pride in what you have done, knowing you were responsible for the crime which so many people were talking about.”
She added that following admissions the men had made after being found guilty, she was sure that Carruthers was the man who cut down the tree while Graham filmed on his phone. But she was satisfied that both were equally culpable.
Carruthers told probation workers he had “drunk a bottle whiskey” after a “tough day” and could not remember felling the tree.
Graham, meanwhile, said he had gone along with Carruthers, who he said was obsessed with the tree and taking home a wedge from it as a trophy was his “dream”.
Judge Lambert said that while there may be a “grain of truth” in what they said, she was sure that neither was telling the whole truth, adding: “I am confident a major factor was the sheer bravado of felling the tree in the middle of the night, in the middle of a storm, that gave you some kind of thrill.”
The judge said the offences were aggravated by the “extraordinary social impact” of the crime, adding that the tree had been a “symbol of the untamed beauty” of the landscape around Hadrian’s Wall and its felling had caused “widespread distress”.
In court, Andrew Poad, a general manager for the National Trust, said that what the two men had done was “beyond comprehension”. He said that there was a feeling of “loss and confusion” in the aftermath that was felt across the world.
In an impact statement, he said: “This iconic tree can never be replaced. While the National Trust has cared for it on behalf of the nation, it belonged to the people. It was a totemic symbol.”
Poad said that “while what was lost cannot be replaced”, the stump of the Sycamore Gap was now showing signs of new life, with shoots emerging from its base.
Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, said that the felling of the tree in September 2023 was an “expedition that required significant planning” and was carried out in a “deliberate and professional way”.
Both Graham and Carruthers initially denied any involvement, despite a video found on Graham’s phone showing the felling alongside messages between the pair boasting about what they had done.
During their trial, the former best friends turned on each other, blaming their co-defendant for cutting down the historic tree.
Graham has a number of previous convictions for violence, battery and public order offences, the court heard. He also received a caution for theft after “cutting up a large quantity of logs using a chainsaw and making off with them”.
Carruthers had no previous convictions.
Planning documents uncovered by the Telegraph suggested Graham may have been motivated to carry out the “arboreal equivalent of mindless thuggery”, as prosecutors called it, by a looming eviction over environmental issues following a long-running dispute with the council and his neighbours.
There was a “significant attack” on the site following Graham’s arrest, in which his caravan was badly damaged, the court heard on Tuesday.
He had also received hate mail while in prison that showed “a very unpleasant, malign intent towards him”. Christopher Knox, his barrister, said: “That is something he has to live with.”
Knox also revealed that in December, while awaiting trial, Graham made a “serious attempt on his own life”, which resulted in him being in hospital for several weeks. He was remanded in custody after the incident for his own safety.
Detective Inspector Calum Meikle, a forester’s son whose knowledge of trees saw him awarded the position of lead investigator in the case, said after sentencing that the tree meant “so much to so many people”.
The detective revealed a tip-off from someone close to Graham and Carruthers had put police on their trail within a fortnight of the tree being cut down.
The informant knew the pair had taken the wedge cut from the tree as a souvenir and were planning to keep it as a trophy.
The breakthrough came when Graham was arrested and his mobile phone was examined, revealing a video that featured the sound of a chainsaw. The footage was sent to forensic imaging experts at Northumbria, who were able to enhance it to the point that the location was unmistakable.
Sarah Dodd, a lawyer specialising in legal issues involving trees, said the felling of the tree and the subsequent criminal proceedings were “unprecedented”, adding: “It shows that tree protection laws carry real weight, and that damaging our natural heritage is not something that will be tolerated lightly.”